Monday, February 25, 2008

Movie Meme

I just had to steal this meme from Life in the Minivan Lane

Rules:
1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search functions.
6. One movie guess at a time. Give people a chance to guess before you steal all of the awesome!


1. Dreyfus once wrote from Devil's Island that he would see the most glorious birds. Many years later in Brittany he realized they had only been seagulls... For me they will always be - *glorious* birds.


2. Johnny Damon, you got the sweetest ass in the league!

3. Yes, and I'm the bastard son of a peasant. What does that have to do with anything?

4. We were married today. We were going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Your brother tries to kill me. A taxi is waiting and now you want to sleep on a window seat. You can take the honeymoon, your wedding ring, your taxi, your window seat, and put 'em in a barrel and push 'em all over Niagara Falls!

Rambling Mom said... #4 is the poor newly married Mrs. Brewster (Elaine Harper) from Arsenic and Old Lace

5. He was their friend, and he betrayed them. He was their *friend*! I hope he finds me! Cause when he does, I'm gonna be ready. When he does, I'm gonna kill him!

6. Oh, him? He's harmless. Part of the free speech movement at Berkeley in the sixties. I think he did a little too much LDS.



Doc Thelma said...Capt. Kirk, from Star Trek IV

7. A souvenir. I thought it'd be a good idea to have a duplicate, turns out I was right. I actually had to pay for the souvenir *and* the real one, so you owe me $35, plus tax.

8. Not porno tongue. Church tongue.

9. They're either married or gay. And if they're not gay, they've just broken up with the most wonderful woman in the world, or they've just broken up with a bitch who looks exactly like me. They're in transition from a monogamous relationship and they need more space. Or they're tired of space, but they just can't commit. Or they want to commit, but they're afraid to get close. They want to get close, you don't want to get near them..
addittothelist said...#9 is from The Big Chill - the unmarried woman from the UofM group that wanted to have a baby. I can't remember the charactor's name, but can picture her. She had redish brown hair. (Close enough....her name is Meg.)



10. You see, their young enter through the ears and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim extremely susceptible to suggestion. Later as they grow follows madness and death.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Reading time with Horse Girl

Every night before bedtime I read to Horse Girl. Tonight we read one chapter out of "Little Town on the Prarie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder and then we read "Thank You, Mr. Falker" by Patricia Polacco.

Thank You, Mr. Falker

After I was done with "Thank You, Mr. Falker" Horse Girl told me she likes that book a lot because it is like her. I told her I like it a lot too, but it makes me cry every time I read it. She asked me why. I told her that Mr. Falker is a lot like a teacher I had and the story reminds me of me and that teacher. She understood.

"Thank You, Mr. Falker" is about a little girl's journey though the school system with kids teasing her because she can't read and feeling dumb because she can't read. She starts hating school because of all this. Then she meets Mr. Falker when she enters 5th grade. Mr. Falker sees her as the bright kid she is. Asks the kids who teased her which one of them is so perfect that they can tease someone else. Mr. Falker ends up helping the little girl to read in the end.

Yes it could be a corny feel-good story, but the thing is the little girl in the story is Patricia Polacco who grows up to write these wonderful children's books. So it is really a very moving true story.

I like it also because it shows how important good teachers are for kids. I believe people have a calling to be teachers. You can tell the ones who are following their calling as soon as you walk into their classroom. Everyone has a teacher they know that they can say that about. To me if being a teacher is a calling, being a special ed teacher is something even more. It is something that a person really needs to be born to do. Yes you can study it and learn about it, but working one on one with this gentle soul who may already be hurting because they can't do what their peers can, takes a very special person. I had three special ed teachers growing up. Each and everyone of them would have done anything to help me become the best student I could be. I owe everything to them. When I see Horse Girl's special ed teacher I see the same traits in her as I did in my special ed teachers. I know because of what this teacher does for Horse Girl, that Horse Girl will remember her for the rest of her life.

I once tried to tell Horse Girl's special ed teacher about how highly I value special ed teachers and she started to tear up, so I stopped. I am not suprised because I know I tear up when I think about her and how she helps Horse Girl and when I think of the teachers who helped me.

Thank you, all the teachers who really make a difference.

Grande Finale Tickets

I was able to get ticket's to The Police grand finale in NY on August 4th. I was able to get them within 10 minutes of them going on sale. My girls knew not to talk to mom until I said ok. :-) *happy dance*

Monday, February 18, 2008

Feburary Vacation

Well today is the first day of Feburary vacation. Horse Girl is on her back with the flu. It seems that she can't even keep down her own spit...so she is vomiting often. I have just given her some flat ginger ale and that seems to be helping.
Horse Girl just had her first sleep over this weekend, it was to celebrate her 8th birthday. Then last night we went to my parent's to celebrate her birthday. She was doing fine. So hearing her vomit in her bed this morning was the first time that we had a clue she wasn't feeling well.
Feburary is normally a good month for us. Both my birthday and horse girl's birthday is in Feburary. Swimming is going in full swing so my depression is normally dormant. Most importantly we are over the hump when it comes to winter....we only have March and April left. (April only if it is a really hard winter......I am betting we will have snow in April this winter because of how hard this winter has been.)
Yay...Horse Girl just sate up without vomiting.....that is a very good thing. :-)

Thursday, February 14, 2008

The Police are coming around again

The Police announced yesturday that their Grande Finale Concert will be August 4, 2008 in Wantagh, NY. I just got the concert listings today. They have that Grande Finale concert. They also have a concert in Boston (which would be cheaper and easier to get to) and they have one concert by Fly Guy's mother (so we could have her watch the girls rather then my parents.)

So the major question is where to go.....where to go.

It would be cool to go to the grande finale, but would it be worth the extra cash. Fly Guy and I had a blast seeing The Police in Boston last year, so why not do it there again. Or we could tie in a trip to see my in-laws and see them there.

Choices choices........


Friday, February 8, 2008

Page 123 meme plus musings

I am stealing this meme from Trees and flowers and birds. I have a vaige memory of doing something like this, but hey if I did it is a new book so might as well do it again.

The Rules

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more (no cheating!)

Find page 123

Find the first five sentences

Post the next three sentences


The book is "The Einstein File: J. Edgar Hoover's Secret War Against the World's Most Famous Scientist." I just got this book in the mail a couple days ago that is why I know I didn't do this book before. :-)

"Each time Hoover's agents drew up a summary of Einstein's "Red front" affiliations, they included more groups. For several years during the early 1950s, his "subversive" list grew at the rate of nearly one new "front group" per month. It wasn't that Einstein joined so many organizations during those waning years of his life, but McCarthy-Hooverism expanded its power, the Subversive Activites Control Board (SACB) and HUAC, the authorities on "subversive" groups, kept enlarging their lists."

So far I have really enjoyed the book. I went on to this one after reading
Einstein: A Biography
Einstein: A Biography by Jürgen Neffe and Shelley Frisch. Which was a great book and having have read a handful of Einstein bios in high school it left me with more questions about him and Hoover, so I had to get this book I am reading now.

A little note here. Horse Girl's teacher is making noices about holding Horse Girl back next year and I have already decided I am not going to allow it for many reasons, but one of the big ones is that when I was her age I was like her. I could sort of maybe read depending on your defintion of reading. It didn't really click until I was 8 or 9 years old. (Horse Girl turns 8 this month.) So for me fast forward 30 years and here I am reading Einstein bios with no problem. I don't read fast, but I read and comprehend which is the most important part. So I really believe Horse Girl will figure things out and be fine just because of my history. That doesn't mean that Fly Guy and I are just sitting back and waiting, we work with her and her teachers work with her and she works hard at every thing she does. I know in my heart that she will be fine with time. I think sometimes it is harder for people who haven't been there, done that and bought several t-shirts, get too tied up with the here and now and don't look down the line.

There isn't a better bio to read then a good Einstein bio when you want to feel like a dyslexic can do anything. ;-) Dyslexics just see the world a different way. Which is why I don't like being told I "suffer" from dyslexia....I don't suffer I see things different then other people, which has bad parts to it and it has good parts. Einsein is one of those people who took the good parts and ran with them. Hmmmm.....a peace loving, socialist, dyslexic who becomes the world's most famous scientist, no wonder he is one of a handful of people who I would view as "my hero."

Monday, February 4, 2008

Responce to comments

I never quite know where to put a responce to a comment, but I will try here. TDR commented on my post called "Learning Disablity Musing" talking and squeeze balls and therapy putty to see if it helps. I can stand the feeling of those things they cause my whole body to shiver because of the feeling. Christina also commented asking if there was anything telling be how to prevent or treat the pain that comment made me do more research and people seemed to be devided about if the pain is muscular or nerological. So if it is nerological I am not sure that having my hands have a daily workout with squeeze balls and the like would help or not. I guess how look at it is that I am greatful I was born when I was and I have had access to computers since I was 11 or 12 years old and have very little reason to write by hand at this point. I even use a computer to write my grocery list and notes to teachers and stuff like that.

Fly Guy and I have talked about getting a lap top for Horse Girl to see if that helps with some of her problems. I am thinking it might be a good idea so I can borrow it to do the research I want to do without writting by hand. ;-)

Once again I am having problems with the spell checker on Blogger....I might have to figure something else to do to deal with my spelling here, because having an unworking spell checker is just no good for me. So sorry for the lack of spell checking once again.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Tarot


You are The Star


Hope, expectation, Bright promises.


The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised


The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.


What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Which comic strip character am I?

OK I am a lemming...all my friends are figuring out which comic character they are so I did it too. :-)







Which Comic Strip character are you???




You are Calvin!!!!!! You are a kid, and you act like one!!!!! You hate anything green, and you love your stuffed animals!!!!!!! I love little kids!!!!! Anything sugary makes you happy!!!!!! Have a great time being a kid!!!!!!!!
Take this quiz!








Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code














Your Score: Franklin


Good grief!




So you're the token black character. But that's okay, because just like Franklin you'll work pretty hard to get noticed anyway. You're everyone's best friend although lacking any major traits that stand out.


United Feature Syndicate says: Franklin met Charlie Brown at the beach in 1968. They'd never met before because they went to different schools, but they had fun playing ball so Charlie Brown invited Franklin to visit him at this house across town for another play session. Later, Franklin turned up as center-fielder on Peppermint Patty's baseball team and sits in front of her at school. Franklin is thoughtful and can quote the Old Testament as effectively as Linus. In contrast with the other characters, Franklin has the fewest anxieties and obsessions. He and Charlie Brown spend quite a bit of time talking about their respective grandfathers. When Franklin first appeared in the late 60s, his noticeably darker skin set some readers in search of a political meaning. However, the remarkable becomes unremarkable when readers learn that Schulz simply introduced Franklin as another character, not a political statement.




Link: The Which Peanuts Character Am I Test written by Upstart_Crow on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test
View My Profile(Upstart_Crow)

Friday, February 1, 2008

A random Meme

A new meme that I have taken from Alto2 over at Tales From the Testosterone Zone

1. Spell my name as it sounds: I have no idea, if I could sound stuff out I wouldn’t have the spelling problems I have.
2. Am I a worrier? Yes..
3. What’s my favorite CD? Ghosts In the Machine by The Police
4. Favorite color(s)? Royal Blue
5. Does my home have an attic? Yes, but there is only this little tiny hole in the ceiling to get up to it, so Fly Guy and I plan to put in some pull down stairs in to make it easier to get up there

6. Have I ever been to Canada? I live in Maine. Maine is practically Canada’s 11th province or its 4th territory...though I would like to think Maine would be a province. I have been to Canada many times...normally Quebec.

7. Have I ever gone fishing? Yes, but it isn’t my favorite thing so I leave it to Fly Guy (remember his name is because of Fly Fishing) and Horse Girl who also loves fishing.
8. Have I ever been on a motorcycle? No.
9. How much money do I have on me right now? $5.50 in my wallet
10. How many cars have I owned? three
11. How many jobs have I had? Eight.
12. How tall am I? 5Åå9Åç
13. Last person to call me: Fly Guy
14. Last thing I yelled out loud: I don’t remember. Normally it is something about History Girl cleaning her room or me snapping and yelling at Horse Girl to stop talking for a few minutes.
15. Last person I was in a car with: Horse Girl taking her the Dyslexia Learning Center
16. Last time I ate at McDonald’s: No clue...no clue for any fast food. It might have been in December.
17. Last thing I bought: Milk and a Propel water. I was coming home from morning swim practice and realized that we might not have enough milk for breakfast and I also realized that I was still sweating from my workout even after a cold shower and even colder weather so I needed something to drink ASAP.
18. Last person I saw: History Girl...she is sitting behind me.
19. Last time I cried: The last major one that I remember was in December when work got to me.
20. Last time I laughed: About 30 mins ago when Fly Guy showed me some funny photos
21. What is the temperature outside? 27ºF, but with wind chill it feels like 17.
22. What time of the day did I get married? May 21, 1994 4pm
23. What did I do two nights ago? No idea...Fly Guy was out so I think I read.
24. Whose birthday is coming up next? Mine....tomorrow.
25. What time did I go to bed last night? At 8:45 lights out at 9:15 ish...I had morning swim practice at 5:30am and Horse Girl didn’t sleep well the night before so I needed my sleep.
26. What was the first thing I thought this morning? I have no idea. You see I get up at 5am and my brain isn’t working yet. Then I get to swim practice 5:30 and swimming is done a little before 7am. Sometime between 5:30 am and 7am my brain starts working. This morning was a bunch of sprint drills so I bet my first thought was about my freestyle technique and what I needed to fix it.
27. What are my plans for this weekend? Officiate at a swim meet. Celebrate my b-day.
28. Lemonade or iced tea? Iced Tea.
29. What do I dislike at this moment? The fact my shoulder isn’t 100% back to normal
30. What did I dream about last night? I don’t remember my dreams often...and normally if I remember them they are too strange or too scary to remember later.
31. What’s the last TV show I watched? Fly Guy and History Girl are watching the movie The Incredibles right now and I watched a bit. The last show I watched was Psych.
32. What is my favorite piece of jewelry? a necklace History Girl gave me on her 2nd birthday. I wear it nearly every day.
33. Am I a dancer? No
34. Have I ever cut my own hair? Yes...when I was six I hated how my hair was feeling so I cut off a chunk.
35. What is my favorite treat? Dark chocolate...darker the better
36. How many piercings/tattoos do I have? no tattoos and the only piercing is one in each earlobe
37. Where’s my favorite place to be? Villas at Wilderness Lodge
38. Is there someone I haven’t seen in a while and miss? A friend of mine from high school...she and I were close friends, but haven't seen her for awhile. We e-mail back and forth and she helps me with music stuff for History Girl, because my knowledge about music is not much
39. Who was the last text I sent to? Fly Guy
40. Do I care what strangers think about me? Not really
41. Last person I talked to on Instant Messenger: My friend Kerri
42. Last person to make me cry: My boss.
43. Who can I tell anything to? Fly Guy and my friend Kerri
44. What am I doing tomorrow? officiating a swim meet and celebrating my birthday
45. Do I have alcohol in my home? Yes, but I don’t drink except on very very rare occasions
46. Do I like ketchup? Yes
47. Do I think I will be on a vacation this summer? Maybe I don’t know. Summer in Maine is so wonderful that I never feel the need to leave Maine in the Summer
48. What color is my master bathroom? My master bathroom is butt ugly. That is the problem with buying a house and seeing potential and not having time enough to do the work. My bathroom is brown. :-P
49. Do I wear a bikini at the beach? No I have never worn a bikini. I don’t like beaches for the most part and I have so many racing suits I don’t buy swim suits to wear a the beach I just grab the best racing suit I have
50. Have I ever been to the Grand Canyon? No
51. What is my favorite fruit? watermelon and grapes
52. What did I really want to do today? pick up the house and go grocery shopping, but Horse Girl was home sick so I got little done.
53. Am I always cold? It my feet are cold I am cold. Living in Maine I have had to learn ways to stay warm even when it is very very cold and damp....cold and damp is the worse
54. Does it annoy me when someone says they’ll call or text, but don’t? Yes.

Learning Disablity Musing

A friend of Fly Guy asked Fly Guy some questions about learning disablities because this friend is worried about some stuff his son is doing. So Fly Guy tossed it over to me so I could try to help this friend figure out the best way to figure out what is going on with this friend's son.

No problem I pull up websites about Dyslexia and Dysgraphia. First of all I learned something new. I never realized the pain in my arm and body when I write wasn't normal. I always figured everyone felt that. So it is nice to know after all these years I learn more about my learning differences.

This pain that I feel is the main reason I have never been able to write a diary or any long handwritten papers. The paperwork I need to do for the girls at the begining of every school year is torture for me. I normally write a bit and then get up and walk around shaking my arm and then write some more and then shake my arm more. It takes me forever to finish the paperwork. I never quite figured out when I was in school why nobody else was shaking their arm. I always figured I was just weaker then they were or something like that.

Reading the other symptoms of Dysgraphia caused my heart to race and remember awful teachers. One of the symptoms is "talks to self while writing." Yes that is very much the case for me. I did that in a college class and the instructor (he not a professor yet, but he wanted to be) yelled at me in front of all the class telling me I was distracting my neighbors. I cried my way through that class and as soon as class was over I went to the Office of Students with Disablities. The director of that office called over to the Poli Sci office and talked to the head of the department (who happen to have Tourette's syndrome). The director told the head of the department what happened. The instructor called me at home later that evening and aplogized, but he never aplogized to me in front of the class. It is taking all my willpower not to state the guy's name here and state how much that hurt me and have him find it while ego surfing, but I am a better person then that. At least I try to be, but I don't always make it. This instructor ended up never being offered a professor position and now worked in the insurance industry. I don't feel sorry about it at all he shouldn't be allowed to teach anyone anything.

Anyhow back to what I was saying. It sometimes suprises me how much pain I remember from events that happened because of the different symptoms. It isn't like I haven't gone on with my life. It isn't like I don't have a good life. These memories just haunt me sometimes.

Thinking about the pain while writing. I have been planning on doing some research lately, but some of the documents I would be using for my research would mean transcribing and the thought of sitting there and writing with the pain, just has been something I have been having trouble getting over.

I have to say I have been fairly good at figuring out what helps the pain. For example a ballpoint pen is just the worst. A Cross fountian pen with a fine nib works well. I don't know if it is because of the different barrel size or the flexiblity of the nib. Also a Shaffer fountian pen works well also....my Shaffer fountian pen I have had since I was in 6th grade it got me through high school. My Cross fountian pen got me through College. Just so you don't think it is fountian pens that help me...I also have a Mount Blanc fountian pen....it is a nice pen, but it doesn't dull the pain like the other two pens. I have no idea what the differance is, there is just a differance.

Blah....it seems that blogger's spell checker is having problems tonight so you got my horrible spelling in all its glory. :-)