Loyalty Has Its Rewards

When I started blogging almost two years ago, (In a month and half it will be exactly two years) I had no idea where it would lead me. I had no clue as to how many people I would become acquainted with. I was unaware of the affect it would have on my life. I did it because we learned about it at school and our campus tech said it was a tool we could use with our students. (Haven't done that yet.)

After I created my blog, I occasionally would click the "next blog" button at the top of the screen. I was fascinated to see how many blogs there were out there on so MANY different subjects. I still don't understand how the "next" button works as each time I click it from my home page, I get a different blogger. Today as I write this, the NEXT blogger is a mom who tells all about the growing up of her daughter Charlotte - cute little girl. There are many blogs out there like that. I figure they are meant for their family who lives far away, so I usually feel like an intruder when I encounter them and never return.

There is one exception, however. I came across a blog, during one of my NEXT-a-thons that I enjoyed following. This blog belongs to Eva Helen. I commented once and she commented back and we have been blog buddies ever since. She takes such lovely pictures of her family and of the places they go.

The other people that I follow and that come up on my reader are a result of my activity on Scrapblog and SIStv. It is nice to follow people who have similar interests but live such different lives than I. It reminds me that there is more to life than what goes on in my little town.

One of those bloggers is Rieni. She takes the most beautiful photos of the Dutch countryside. When I visit her blog, I feel I have wandered into her world. The fun thing is it is written all in Dutch, so I practice reading it and then I turn on the Google translator to see what I got right. I try to visit her every week if not everyday. For my loyalty I was given a blog award. YAY FOR ME. Now I have to share it with 7 of you. Let's see how it goes.First the rules: Dutch English Norwegian

1. Kopier deze award naar je blog
copy this award to your blog.
Kopier denne prisen til bloggen din.
2. Maak een link naar de persoon van wie je deze award gekregen hebt.
Create a link to the person from whom you have received this award.
Opprett en kobling til den personen som du har mottatt denne prisen.
3. Vertel 7 intressante dingen over jezelf.
Tell 7 interesting things about yourself.
Fortelle 7 interessante ting om deg selv.
4. Kies 7 andere bloggers om de award door te geven.
Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award.
Velg 7 andre bloggere til å passere prisen.
5. Maak een link naar hun blog.
Create a link to their blog.
Lag en link til bloggen deres.
6 Laat een berichtje achter op hun blog,om ze te vertellen over de award die ze gekregen hebben van jouw.
Leave a message on their blog, to tell them about the award they have received yours.
Legg igjen en melding i bloggen deres og fortelle dem om prisen de har mottatt ditt.

Next: To tell 7 things about myself.

1. I have been crafty since elementary school. We had a great art teacher Mrs. Blomquist and she taught us papier mache, quilling, pottery, crayon resist and many other things. I wish my students had these type of resources regularly, but with budget cuts, we have no art teacher. They are left with me as an art teacher, and I must admit I have been lax in that area on a regular basis.
   
2. As a child I learned to crochet from a Japanese lady who lived down the street. Her name was Toshiko. She would tell me to make a chain with HIFTY links and I couldn't understand her. Her husband Robby would walk by and say "FIFTY!!!"
3. I learned to knit from one of my mother's knitting books. I got pretty good at it, but was always really bad about finishing projects. (There is a sweater in box somewhere with only a front. I am sure.)
4. I learned to sew in 4H. My teacher was Mrs. Seiser. I had a crush on her son Derek. (She had all boys, and they used to like to play Queen-the only place I ever head rock music for many years.) Once a week I would go to her house and learn to sew. My first project was a little knapsack. My second was a sundress. I sewed many of my daughter's clothes many years later, but haven't touched the machine in two years or more.
5. I learned to cook with Mrs. Seiser too. Those who know me know where that has gotten me.
6. I played the flute from 6th grade through college and afterward played in church orchestras until my flute was stolen in 1997.
7. I live in the town I grew up, but have moved away many times. (More about that some other time.)

Finally, the award giving.
1. Eva Helen for her candid photography and for letting me have a peek into her world.
2. Sandra has the best scraproom in the world. It is in an old carriage house which, by the way, has the BEST guestroom int he world too. When she makes it out there (when not playing with her cutie of a grandson) the makes the nicest things.
3. MJ makes the cutest hand painted items, but is currently out of commission due to an unfortunate slip. Sorry folks, her blog is private, but I am giving her an award anyway.
4. Letti is so prolific that she has two blogs. One is about her Adventures in the U S of A and the other is the loveliest mom to son blog I have ever seen where she documented her daily life during her pregnancy and her son's daily life as he grows. I love how she speaks to him. It will be a treasure for him in the future.
5. Thinkie travels so many places and takes so many photos. (I think I have thing for photoblogs.) She is another Dutchie and has given me window to so many different worlds.
6. Marit is a creative art journaler and has started her first online workshop. She has already shown us how to make our own art journals. I can't wait to see what else comes up.
7. MrsPeel has entered full force into the world of digital scrapbooking. I met her on Scrapblog, but she has taken the art of digital scrapping even farther. She is quite talented.

So click on over. Meet these ladies. Get to know the people who inspire me. And I will see how loyal I can be to my own blog in the future.

No Turning Back

That title makes me think of a song we sing at church.

"I have decided to follow Jesus....No turning back, no turning back."

This time, however, it has to do with pushing the finalize button on the Expedia website. I finally purchased tickets to fly to Norway this summer with my friend Peggy.

This was an idea I conjured up a couple of years ago after making contact with a friend from Norway I met 16 years ago when he was traveling around the US. Peggy heard about it, I asked her if she wanted to come, and surprisingly, she did. Ever since then, I have been working (teaching summer school and selling Mary Kay) to pay for this trip. I think if I hadn't made plans with Peggy, I wouldn't have ever had the guts to actually go.

Peggy - World Traveler

Everyday, I would go on line and look at the locations we could explore when we got there. I even have an email that I occasionally pasted ideas into to send to Peggy to let her know what we could do in Norway. I bought a book and CD to teach me some key Norwegian phrases, although most people speak English there. Every month, I would go to Expedia and Kayak and a cornucopia of other websites looking for the best deals on plane tickets. No matter where or when I looked, the prices never dropped unless I wanted to fly last year in July when they had tickets for almost half the price.


Finally, when I decided that the prices were not going to drop anymore. I bit the bullet. I clicked the purchase button. I am certain Peggy was happy to get that email. The problem came when I did push that enter key. My stomach began to churn, and I could hardly breathe. My anxiety began to rise. What if I hate Norway? What if Peggy and I don't get along? What if my friends in Norway and I don't like each other any more? Too many what ifs!

How could a person not love this?! (Haugesund, Norway)

Now the nausea is gone. I am getting more excited, the more I think about it. I am going to post a countdown calendar on my sidebar to count the days until we go. Keep an eye out.

Pet Peeve

I L.O.V.E technology! Everyone I know knows that about me. However, I have a little gripe.

My daughter's teachers have been assigning more and more computer based assignments - blog responses, online quizzes, online reviews, online book reports, online study programs - all of which have due dates; therefore, they are required.

Every week I check my daughter's assignments, and I find some teacher has assigned one more. I recently was unplugged due to connectivity issues and a dead computer. How then is a child who doesn't have a computer supposed to complete these assignments? There are computers at school, but a student has to stay after or come before school to get this done. My daughter rides a bus to school out of necessity. She does not arrive much before school starts and also has after school committments, so she can't go to the computer lab.

As a teacher, I work really hard to provide my students with in-class time to access computers rather than require their parents to provide computer time. If the assignment is that important, then I need to give students the necessary resources.

I find it ridiculous the requirements my daughter's teachers are placing on her. Who is the teacher? Me? The internet? If we could learn everything from the internet, what would we need teachers for.

When You Go Unplugged...

This is what you see when you return:
Don't know when I will get to read them, so if you are the sender of one of 160+ emails in my inbox, just take a number and learn to be a patient waiter. But you, Hanes - Oil of Olay - Marriot, don't hold your breath because I can guarantee I won't open your email. There is too much living to be done.