madameblogalot

In an effort to save money, many folks are cutting down on summer travel. But what if you could win a FREE trip this summer? I just learned about the quality hotel little league promo . It sounds perfect for the sports minded family. You can enter to win an all inclusive trip for a family of four to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA from August 27-31, 2009! This package includes round trip air fare, hotel accommodations, tickets to the Little League World Series, $1000 in spending money and hotel points! What an incredible deal!

Three other families will win a youth sports travel package. This package includes a hotel gift card, a gas card, spending money, and a kid’s survival kit including movies and music. These packages will make any youth sports travel a breeze!

I know several families who would love the chance to win this little league baseball family trip .

My son has a classmate from Russia. Her cousin from the Ukraine is here visiting her. She has brought him to school with her for the last couple of days. Today my son encountered him in English class. Although the visitor does not speak much English, he could understand simple conversation and also had his cousin nearby to translate. My son’s English teacher asked the boy what he thought of the school. He replied “Big shopping mall.”

I have finally gotten over my foot injury. My doctor “graduated” me this week. Everything seems to be fine, though I can feel a little ache after a long run. I am glad to be done with regular visits. And just in time. My husband has developed plantar fasciitis. I told him to go see my doctor. But after researching it and listening to how long it took me to get over it a few years ago, we have basically assembled our own “First Aid Kits“: ice, step stretcher, and a friend’s sleep boot. The boot has worked amazingly well.

Being active means we will from time to time develop sport’s related injuries. Sites like physrioroom.com help with researching pain and injuries allowing athletes to help themselves as best is possible and help know what to talk to the doctor about. Items like the sleep boot can be ordered to keep your own sports first aid kit well stocked!

Next week my son will have finals. He is only going to be required to take one (well, technically two, but they have already started their engineering final project)! He was really happy about this. He works hard (or at least hard enough) to maintain his exempt status. What this means is that he does not have to take certain finals. This applies to all his core classes. As I stated, he was very happy about this.

As it turns out this year, at this school (the other high school is not requiring this), if the student is exempt, they must attend their class anyway! If they do not come to class, even though they are exempt from the test, they will lose their exempt status. Which translates to having to take the test, which they cannot do if they are not there, which results in a zero for the final exam grade. He is really bummed about that because being exempt is a reward which he worked to attain by keeping his grades up and attending school even when he did not feel so good (exemptions are based on grades and absences.)

The reason the students have to show up even if exempt? So the school can get the money for each student in attendance!

Ah, Public School…

My husband loves to play golf. He even loves to watch it. So in looking for the perfect Father’s Day gift I came across some golf video tips that he might like. He learned the game from his grandfather, and the last time he talked to a pro, he was told that he had very good form. My husband also got some very expensive new clubs. They are so technologically advanced that last month, he actually made a HOLE IN ONE!!!

So learning to Practice Like a Pro is something that I am sure he would love. He already told me which golf balls to get for him. I am not even actually sure I got the right ones. I could not believe how many there were to choose from, but none that actually seemed to fit the description he gave me! But if I choose to order from the Practice Like a Pro website, I can get him a series of practice videos that will cover such techniques as the short game, the scoring clubs, putting and drills and tips. There is also a bonus video showing practice rounds with tour pros putting the tips into practice. I think it might be something he could enjoy and learn from.

Last week my son was called out of class and told to report to a certain room. There were several other students there. They were given a card with a name on it. His said Ryan __________ NASA. The students were then told that they would be escorting the community member named on his/her card during the Career Fair. They would miss a little of class time, but had to report back to class when not actually escorting their visitor. The students were nominated by a teacher. We joked that our son was nominated by one of his least favorite teachers! Today is the Career Fair. I am excited to hear how it went.

I had read a few weeks ago about the trend of movie watching. I am not as big a movie fan as many people I know. I do Watch movies but not very often. And often I don’t enjoy the way they are portrayed (too much violence, too much sex, too much bad language, too….) But the article I was reading talked about how fewer and fewer people are watching movies on TV, including cable channels. They are instead opting to Watch movies online . I find that interesting. I guess it’s easier for some folks. But for me I wonder how comfortable that would be. I like the bigger screen and just making myself comfy while I watch. Maybe younger people these days are just more used to the computer so it’s just as comfortable for them to watch movies online. I even found a site where you can choose which movies you want to watch online. You can find the highest rated movies, the latest movies or search by genre.

In line with this trend, I saw a commercial on TV the other day for…watching TV! It seems that more and more people must be turning to the internet for their viewing habits for there to even be a commercial like that!

At church today we celebrated with the high school seniors who will be graduating. The sermon was focused on them and their new venture in life. Afterward we had a lunch where we viewed a slide show, they were given bibles and a personal blessing. My turn is coming soon. In just a year and a half my son will turn eighteen. And then, it will be time for him to get ready to graduate and move on. The time is flying by too swiftly for me. I try to make every little life lesson that is continually doled out into an experience that he can see will serve him in the near future. It just won’t be long until he is moving out on his own. A year and a half, and he will be an official adult!

My grandpa is a country boy. His yard is mostly garden, both front and back. Living on a corner lot has given him tons of room to grow all kinds of plants. The front and side of the yard are mostly flowers while the back is mostly vegetables. Even his compost pile sprouts plants! One fascinating aspect of his yard is all the birds that come to visit his feeders. We love to sit at his dining room table next to the big window and watch the antics of the birds. One of our favorites are the hummingbirds. They are beautiful and fascinating creatures.

I learned today that these tiny hovering birds actually migrate from tropical climates to North America each year. They begin in their homes in Central America and start as early as January but usually in mid-March to make their way North. They come to Texas between mid-March and Mid-July. Before they leave they eat a hearty meal, nearly doubling their weight. Then they begin their 18-22 hour non-stop flight north. By the time they reach their destination, they have lost nearly 1/3 of their body weight.

Hummingbirds are individual creatures. They do not migrate in groups. The males head out first in the migration cycle and head toward the coast. The females will follow around ten days later. The whole migration process takes about three months.

I am wishing now that I would have gone ahead and gotten my mom of the best hummingbird feeders I could have found for Mother’s Day. That seems like a really nice gift that would be enjoyed from year to year. Hm, maybe my dad will get one for Father’s Day….

Growing up I loved listening to a Christian a cappella singing group called Acappella. They are a group of college age young men. I have known a couple of guys who have made the group. One young man I knew when I was young made the group while in college. Another was the son of our preacher. We knew him when he was about ten and it was fun to hear him singing recorded as an adult!

I still have some of the cassettes! I have thought about upgrading some of those old tapes to CDs but just have not done it. Tonight I received and email about their newest release and went to check out their website. I was thrilled to find a clearance section with many CDs priced at $3.95. I filled my cart with several and now am awaiting their shipment! Some of these CDs may be gifts but I will keep most of them.