When Do You Put Up Your Christmas Lights

Is it November or December?  I am shocked at how many people have Christmas lights out already.  Don't get me wrong.  I love Christmas and Christmas lights, but November 14th.  What is it about our culture that we are always looking forward to something bigger and better as opposed to enjoying where we are currently?  Are they going to celebrate Thanksgiving? or just zoom right by to Christmas?  I'd like to think that extending the holiday allows them to enjoy it more, but I have the feeling that it probably just brings more stress (and I'm sure an even larger electric bill).

When do you put up your Christmas lights?

No more toilet paper tubes

Have you heard?  Kimberly-Clark has announced that they will be removing toilet paper tubes from their toilet paper.  Technically, apparently they are called cores, but you know what I am talking about: the cardboard center of the toilet paper roll.

Apparently, toilet paper tubes, according to Kimberly-Clark's October 28th press release, toilet paper cores account for 160 million pounds of waste.  Of course my question is not why we are taking it out, but why didn't someone think of this earlier? And does this mean we are going to have less expensive toilet paper since this part is being removed?  And of course most importantly, how are we going to do all those Kindergarten crafts?

My next question is, when will someone be innovative enough to do the same thing with paper towel rolls?

How to study spelling with the kids

I found an online free spelling program that you all may enjoy.  Spelling City allows you to enter your own spelling words or to use preset lists that they have and then you have three choices: learn, play, test. The games are mostly for younger / middle age children, but frankly could be a fun way to practice spelling words at any age.  If your child, like my son, hates spelling practice, this may be the answer:

Sarah Palin the next Ronald Reagan?

So after my post about Sarah Palin's TLC show yesterday, I sat down with my son to watch a movie.   My father had given me a history movie to watch with the kids.  I thought for some reason that it was about WWII, but it turned out to be about Ronald Reagan.  The topic still fit my need for a little Social Studies so we watched anyway. 

The film was actually Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich.  I cannot even tell you what a great retrospective it was on his life, his character, and all he accomplished.  There were a few points I actually found myself crying.  But as I was watching it, I found myself thinking of my post about Palin.  Her renegade and rough and tumble attitude seemed mightily reflected in Reagan.  I even learned that between Reagan's first run for presidency (He lost the primary to Barry Goldwater) and his second, Reagan hosted a radio show, which the commentators noted may have led to his win in the second election because the electorate was so familiar with Reagan and his ideals.  See I wasn't wrong in my comment yesterday "genius or insane",  maybe I should have just left it at genius.

Certainly there are a fair share of differences too, but Reagan and Palin come from a similar ideology and both have a bit of a take it or leave it attitude.  Wouldn't it be great to have another great president?  One that we could really be proud of and admire?

One of the most interesting comments about Reagan was that many people thought of him being from the far right, but that he actually governed from center right.  And he was not afraid to cross the isle to get things accomplished, but knew when to stand his ground.  I think in Sarah's background we can surely see that this is her way.

Could Sarah be our Reagan again?  I figure it won't be too long before the race begins again and we'll see.

Sarah Palin - Future President or TV Celebrity

I have to admit that when John McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate I did not know much about her but I quickly became an admirer.  I liked the renegade attitude.  I appreciated her willingness to take on the status quo.  And frankly, I was very exited about setting up a possible female presidency, especially with someone who seemed so down to earth.  I was very saddened to see how the Republican handlers handled Sarah and her family, and I felt very angry at the way the media treated them.  I really hoped the McCain / Palin ticket was going to pull it out but to no avail.  But I continued to follow Palin hoping that we would see her reemerge for the next Presidential election.  Then she resigned as governor of Alaska.  I was dumbfounded and figured that she had basically committed political suicide.  It was difficult enough that she was only a one term governor and people were already questioning her leadership ability, but to quit.  I pretty much wrote her off the political scene at that time.  I was interested in her involvement in the Tea Party but saw her more as a celebrity spokesman than a "candidate".

But then I read, ok, actually heard, Sarah Palin's Going Rogue, which as I had hoped, explained why she stepped down as governor.  She explained further how she had become paralyzed as  a government official.  How law suits were pouring into the state and attacks on her government were jamming the cogs.  This certainly did not excuse her in my eyes but helped with the understanding. My hope for her and 2012 wast starting to reignite.

Then yesterday I sat down to see if OnDemand had my 19 kids and Counting episode.  As I plugged through "Life and Home", then to "TLC", I saw it - Sarah Palin's Alaska. 






WHAT?  The Palin Family was becoming TLC's newest reality TV family.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  It is an eight week series in which the Palin family is supposed to introduce us to Alaska.  Now I can't figure out if this is genius or insanity.  It is supposed to get us to know the family better and show us that Sarah is not a diva, but I think this may just be too much knowing.  if she does run after this and wins, what does this say about the US electorate?  Is the presidency becoming a popularity contest?  A beauty pageant?  Do we choose our president based on issues or a great smile?

Of course, having said all that I do have to tell you that I will be tuning into TLC for Sarah Palin's Alaska and there is still a part of me that looks forward to seeing:

http://www.zazzle.com/sarah_palin_for_president_2012_poster-228135818804125228  

Making Homemade Pizza

It is the day before grocery shopping and the cupboards are bare. Ok, not that bare, but some combinations would make interesting meals. So I have decided to make some homemade pizza. For years that meant that I would revert to Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette version, but DH has found that he prefers King Arthur Flour's version just a bit more. (Frankly, I still like Amy's more due to the time constraints, but today I had the extra time.) Hopefully, it will be even tastier when I add the tomato sauce that I made the other day.

Lately, it seems I am cooking something up in the kitchen everyday. We made Aunt Florence's Irish soda bread to bring to book club on Monday and Charlotte's molasses cookies for church on Sunday.  In fact, I was thinking that it is time to start making up recipe books for the kids.  DD will be 16 and DS will be 14.  Part of me would like to think that they won't move out for years, but the other part knows that it will be in the blink of an eye.  I think that one of the gifts that I would like to send them off with is a compilation of our favorite recipes.  Certainly, this will not be a one day project so perhaps I should start now.

Ironically, DD was touting her cooking skills just the other day to a friend who wasn't even sure how to boil water for pasta.  I thought "woo-hoo," as she was walking her friend through the steps of making dinner,"at least DD won't starve to death when she is on her own."  I thought of some of my first meals that even the dog wouldn't touch.

I know for sure that I will put the homemade pizza dough recipe in their cookbooks. What family recipes do you wan to pass down to your children?

Jim Henson's Prodigy

Sometimes I worry so much about my son.  Reading and writing are still such a challenge for him.  He has improved exponentially, but it is still an up hill battle.   But then he does something like this:

Just some Sculpey and an imagination.  He started with a need to create a hamburger and all its fixin's and then he got into these little characters.

Looking at them all I could think of was the Muppets.  What do you do with a creative mind like this?  How do you grow it from play to art / stage?  I know the first step is to let it flourish and grow without being stomped on which we have allowed, but now how do we give it the light and nourishment to offer him stability and earnings in the future?