madameblogalot

Having an older teen, one who is stuck in the middle of the teen years and keeping a toddler everyday, I started thinking about how much these ages are alike. At first I thought I would say that teens and toddlers are in the same world only on opposite ends of the spectrum. But I think they are pretty much going through the same things-physically, emotionally, and mentally. I mean, we can see a toddler’s body growing and changing, and for the most part that is the same with teens. It is harder to tell the emotional and mental changes going on inside a toddler, but again, maybe not any harder than it is to tell with teens! I mean, they are both figuring out who they are apart from Mom, Dad and other family members; who they are in their own right, in their own community, and they are adamant about expressing their individualism. The mental changes and growth going on within toddlers could probably be said to be about even with teens. Even though a lot of people might think that there is nothing going on in that space between a teenager’s ears, there is plenty of observation, thought processing, reflecting, stewing, percolating and making pronouncements and assertions about the world in which they live. I guess the one advantage that toddlers have over teens is that most people think they are still “cute”.

In all the swirl of life we are going through right now, there are so many needs that have to be taken care of. I cannot believe the amount of money that has been spent by us this year. Money for physical therapies, college fees, eyeglasses, driver’s ed, the dentist, sessions with specialists, required health insurance for a college student…and this is all among the regular expenses required just to live and run a household!

I know some changes are in store for the next year’s budget planning. Things like driver’s ed are over. Physical therapies have ended. And for eye wear I will definitely check into cheap eyeglasses . This year I let my daughter talk me into “glasses in an hour.” In the future I want to check out some prescription eyeglass web sites to help control some of the outrageous costs while still meeting my family’s health needs. I hear they can provide sturdy, affordable and yet stylish eyeglasses to help meet any budget. So while health care often feels like a luxury I am hopeful to be able to meet all my family’s needs while remaining safely within our budget.

I read an article this weekend about the corn industry’s push to re-name high fructose corn syrup on labels (read here.) I know this is a controversial topic recently. While I try to refrain from buying products containing HFCS I know it is hard to do in modern day America. With all the bad press it just seems disingenuous for the makers to try to change the name. That seems like trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes. Let the consumer make his or her own informed choice (meaning we need to be given the full information.) After all, isn’t a rose by any other name still a rose?

There is not much that can be said that has not already been said. I have had a hard time watching images that have been replayed on tv over the past week, even ten years later. They are disturbing images even now. And yet there is an importance in remembering the tenth anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks. Not only is it a good way for us to deal with it, a kind of catharsis, but it helps to impart the meaning to our children.

As today is an important day for Americans to remember those who have fallen in recent history, it is important to teach the younger generation why it’s important to remember. Sometimes history seems like such a dull thing of the past to kids. Teaching them now about an historic event that we and many of them have lived through puts the human touch, emotion, and passion into history. It is important to impart not only information but values and lessons learned from such historic events. Today is a great day to recall why it’s so important to be mindful of and share such events.

I remember my granny talking about Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day, “a date which will live in infamy”, and how it is nearly forgotten by today’s generation. It is up to us to impart those values to the ones coming behind. To know what it is we stand for. To know how we got where we are and why we do some of the things we do. It is important that history not always repeat itself. That is why days like today are so important.

My friend Marathon Bird recently posted about her recommitment to weekly menu planning. I had kind of fallen out of practice on that too, and was so glad she wrote about it. It is not a hard practice and really does not take too much time and the benefits are greater than the effort it takes. It makes putting together a shopping list easier, it makes the evenings go more smoothly, and it does save time and money too. I have been putting together my weekly menu again and I am glad MB reminded me to do it!

…I finished my first ever Olympic distance triathlon. What a day! We had record temperatures and a pretty sizable wind. We also had to cross the Kemah bridge, twice!

While I am pleased that I finished and happy with my swim time I did not feel too good about finishing third from the bottom of my age group. But, that just leaves me with something to strive for-either getting faster and stronger, or being happy as a back-of-the-packer!

Our distances included a .93 mile swim in the South Shore Marina, a 25 mile bike ride (which actually turned out to be 28 miles) and a 6.2 mile run. I dropped my inhaler on the bike portion and decided not to stop and pick it up. BIG mistake!! First off, I had a really really hard time on the run without it and ended up wheezing and painful at the finish line. Second, I had to replace it, which I did not know was going to cost me $40! (The one I dropped was a sample.)

But, all in all, my times were pretty good for me, pretty close to what I expected. I was really thankful to a teammate of mine, Rik, who earlier in the season cycled with me one day. We ended up doing the last portion of the race run together. He pushed me a bit faster than normal and while I paid for it in wheezing for a bit, I was really happy and loved seeing the race photo of us crossing the finish line together!

Here are my finishing times:

16th-of 19 in my age group

281-overall place (not sure how many entrants, at least 320)

40:02.2-swim time

2:28.4-transition 1

1:45:49.4-bike

15.9-average speed on bike

2:10.8-transition 2

1:10:15.4-run

11:20-run pace

3:40:46.3-total time to finish

This was my “A” race, my big race for the season. I am not sure where I will go from here but I do know it’s fun, it’s a challenge and it’s good for me. I know I will never be a contender, but I do hope that I am healthy enough to continue for as long as I want to.

Rango: STRANGE! NOT for young children (cursing throughout, unsuitable images, etc.) I fell asleep before it was over. A BIG MISS.

Unknown: This movie was another with that Inception feel. I really enjoyed Liam Neeson. I liked the story too. It was filled with enough plot twists to keep me guessing as to what was really happening. And after the movie, it made us talk it out to make sure we “got it”. My daughter watched it again the next day with my son. I give this one a HIT.

Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus: This was the assigned summer reading for my daughter’s upcoming World History class. I was not sure how to approach this book after my daughter would nearly not let me read it. She said I would hate it and it was weird. So I braced myself. It was not near as bad as I had expected. It is weird as it is a revisionist history told from an alternate reality. I don’t want to give too much away, but the ending was not what I expected, though from the title I guess I should have expected it. I am a bit ambivalent as to the storyline and not sure really how I feel/stand about the whole thing. I am interested as to how they will utilize the story in the classroom. I was surprised that by the end what role Christianity actually played in the story. I will rate this one neither a HIT or MISS and will likely continue thinking about it for a while before I decide.

Limitless: When I heard the premise of the movie, accessing the ability to utilize your entire brain, I thought this would be a good movie. The movie was weird. I did not like the way it was filmed, and I did not like the way the brain’s power was accessed. Not to mention a lot of the story itself. So all in all, I ended up rating this movie as a MISS.

Sphere: Another Michael Crichton novel. This one takes place under the ocean and involves the ideas of alien life forms and time travel. At one point I almost thought I was going to have to give a Crichton book a MISS, but I kept with it and was not disappointed. I will rate this as usual a HIT.

Tangled: A fun disney movie. A little weird. Again I don’t think for very young children but ok for older kids. For us, I’ll give it a HIT.

Rising Sun: Yes, another Crichton novel. It is so easy for me to get caught up in his stories. I really like the way he tells them and keeps them moving along. I find them intriguing and insightful and I usually learn something along the way. As I started this book I was afraid this was going to be my first MISS as a Crichton novel. I could not stand the constant bad language and the dark world which was being portrayed. But as I got further into the story I did become caught up in it. And there are plenty of twists and turns to keep things moving and to keep the reader guessing. Again, I will rate it as a HIT.

Well, we got one kid shipped out. I thought we would have a cut back on the drama around here. But alas, it looks like we are in for three more years of it. I can only hope that by then there will be a reduction of the drama brought on by teenagehood!

This summer I became lifeguard certified. Part of the lifeguard training included CPR training and certification. All participants in the class had to go through step-by-step instruction to learn the proper technique and procedure for executing CPR. The CPR course included the chest compressions and the mouth to mouth resuscitation. Some people are very uncomfortable giving mouth to mouth to a stranger, but it seemed like there was no other way to help save a life. However, in a campaign from the American Heart Association and the Ad Council, a new digital application has been introduced to help teach the steps of Hands-Only CPR. This could be a good solution for the people who still want to help save lives, but don’t like the uncomfortable situation of mouth to mouth with a stranger. This could become a very popular idea!

I always have a huge problem with schools’ extra curricular teams not following/enforcing their own dress codes. And it seems that some programs are becoming more and more revealing/skimpy/(insert your own words), particularly cheerleading, track and volleyball. So when I came across this article, I was pretty impressed. More so because the girls themselves supported it. And I like how it makes them feel. And to be able to be competitive and not just look like some nerds/geeks/(insert your own words) makes it even better.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Girls-track-team-turns-to-skirts-to-improve-resu?urn=highschool-wp3098