I print numbers. Numbers are fun to write. I learn how to count. I also like to add
and subtract. Ashleigh
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I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I have a second blog that I write on alone. My second blog was created about 4 years ago as a school project for me. I started off writing simple, 2 paragraph long posts, one per day of the week excluding weekends. As I got older, this escalated to 4, and then 5. I wrote about everything- what I was doing, my interests, my thoughts, even my dreams. I would also post homework assignments and some of my own poetry.
As I got older, Dad wanted me to start breaking off into other, smaller blogs. I began writing on a blog I named 'Absolute Animals', which served as my biology lesson. Once or twice a week, I would write 4 paragraphs about any animal of my choice. I had to include basic information about the animal and at least one picture- not that this bothered me, as it took up more space in the blog post anyway. About a year and a half later, I began a blog called 'Maddie's Minerals', which served as good geology lesson. I wrote down all the elements in the periodic table, writing roughly a 5 paragraph segment on each over the course of a year. On top of this, I also wrote 4-paragraph long pieces on various different gemstones. I also started a site called 'Around the World in 80 Days' at around this same time. It was inspired by the book of the same name, and served as my geography lesson. Essentially, I was given 80 days. I could only go 100 miles per day, and I had to make it around the world within those 80 days (gauging by maps and landmarks). For each place I "visited" from behind my computer screen, I had to write 5 paragraphs describing the place and some major landmarks in the area. Finally, I have the Book Stack- my site where I publish all of my book reports and writing assignments in general. I am the proudest of this site because it shows how I've progressed in my writing through the 2 years I've been writing on the site. Then, I have this site. I also have to write on it every day, along with my sister and my dad (whose posts can be read above AND below this post). My Think a Thought (the blog that I wrote on initially) has completely transitioned over to just poetry now, so if you want to check that OR any others out, you can. Have a good day :) Maddie Okay, ok... so my last post was a repost of something I had already written. Does that make it wrong? No... my Dad just doesn't count it as sufficient for homework today. The only reason I reposted was because I had LITERALLY TWO MINUTES to get my post out or I was going to get a two-page paper as a repercussion for getting my blog post out late. Luckily for me, Dad wasn't done with his post either, so we settled on the agreement that Dad wouldn't have to pay me $2 and I wouldn't owe a 2 pager.
This system makes sure we get our posts out on time... usually. I'm almost done with my homework for today- I have to finish this post and then I have to write a poem. Easy... oh, and I have to finish reading a book by a man named Balthasar Gracian. The book is actually pretty good though, so I shouldn't have any trouble finishing it. After I get done, I plan on playing GTA V (Grand Theft Auto Five) with a few of my friends and maybe play some Call of Duty. Gaming is one of my favorite past-times. I play mainly on the xBox, and occasionally on the computer if I want to play the Sims. If you want, you can add me on xBox- my gamertag is Rosika Forn. Anyway, I'm gonna end this post here- have a good day! Maddie I just wanted to post this- it's one of my favorite posts/papers I have ever written and I am extremely proud of it. It was from when I was writing a series of papers on the book 'The Importance of Living'. Well worth a read.
33 Moments of Happiness Thoughts from Madison Nef This chapter of the book was just these 33 moments of happiness… they were written by a man and his friend when they got stuck in a temple for 10 days due to bad weather. While they take up most of the paper, I included them all because I think they are a great example of, once again, the little things in life and how important and significant they are. I am going to include these 33 moments of happiness, but I am also going to write my own 33 and ALSO: I challenge my readers to make a list of 33 little things that make them happy and leave it in a comment below. 1) Jumping barefoot into rain puddles while it is thundering and lightning out. 2) Walking in the woods on a cold day in the fall, listening to the birds and other animals. 3) Finding a radio station in the car that plays non-stop techno music. 4) Long, deep talks with Dad when I get depressed or feel lonely. 5) Talking to my friends and feeling their support and knowing that they care about me. 6) Turning somersaults in the cold lake water with my sister during the summer. 7) Burning incense outside and sitting on my rock, thinking about everything. 8) Sitting quietly in the living room with my family, watching the wood stove fire burn out. 9) Staying up until 1:00 playing the name game with my family. 10) The feeling of relief after beating a hard boss in a game. 11) The clarity that comes from writing emotional poetry. 12) Walking along the beach with my dad and sister, collecting seashells. 13) Attempting to tackle my mom when I was little, and never succeeding. 14) Spinning in a circle for five minutes, then collapsing and watching the ceiling spin. 15) Feeling shivers crawl up my spine while reading a book. 16) Looking at my best friend and knowing that we are thinking the same thing. 17) The first sip of a cold drink on a hot day in summer. 18) The taunting smell of pizza as you struggle through a hard workout in karate. 19) Whirlpool baths in the Jacuzzi after a hard black belt test. 20) The feeling of pride and accomplishment that comes after a black belt test. 21) Finishing the icing on a cake and seeing that it is completely smooth, with no ridges. 22) Watching others smile and enjoy the food you made. 23) Talking to my dog, knowing that he doesn’t judge me and will never tell my secrets. 24) Hugs from my sister when I feel down. 25) Going to an empty park and being able to do whatever you want. 26) Picnics in the woods during the summer. 27) Listening to a song that describes my mood perfectly. 28) When I let my hair down after karate. 29) Watching my dog dive after a stick and going underwater. 30) Going through my memory box on nights when I can’t sleep. 31) The mini heart-attack you have right before a huge drop on a roller coaster. 32) Hugging my friends when they get down or upset. 33) When my sister flipped someone off at the mall and made me laugh… Ah, is this not happiness? Those are my 33 moments of happiness… when you write your 33, keep in mind that it can be little things OR big… but if you use a lot of big things, you are going to have a harder time deciphering the importance of the little things. Most of mine were little, but I threw in a couple of big things too. Just remember not to base your life and its worth off of “big” things because they so rarely happen… take time to look for the small joys in life and enjoy those instead. Then, when something big actually does come around it will make it that much more special, because instead of LOOKING for the big you waited, took your time, and enjoyed the little things. Below are the original 33: 1. It is a hot day in June when the sun hangs still in the sky and there is not a whiff of wind in the air, nor a trace of clouds; the front and back yards are hot like an oven and not a single bird dares to fly about. Perspiration flows down my whole body in little rivulets. There is the noonday meal before me, but I cannot take it for the sheer heat. I ask for a mat to spread on the ground and lie down, but the mat is wet with moisture and flies swarm about to rest on my nose and refuse to be driven away. Just at this moment when I am completely helpless, suddenly there is a rumbling of thunder and big sheets of black clouds overcast the sky and come majestically on like a great army advancing to battle. Rain-water begins to pour down from the eaves like a cataract. The perspiration stops. The clamminess of the ground is gone. All flies disappear to hide themselves and I can eat my rice. Ah, is this not happiness? 2. A friend, one I have not seen for ten years, suddenly arrives at sunset. I open the door to receive him, and without asking whether he came by boat or by land, and without bidding him to sit on the bed or the couch, I go to the inner chamber and ask my wife: “Have you got a gallon of wine like Su Tungp’o's wife?” My wife gladly takes out her gold hairpin to sell it. I calculate it will last us three days. Ah, is this not happiness? 3. I am sitting alone in an empty room and I am just getting annoyed at a little mouse at the head of my bed, and wondering what that little rustling sound signifies – what article of mine he is biting or what volume of my books he is eating up. While I am in this state of mind and don’t know what to do, I suddenly see a ferocious-looking cat, wagging its tail and staring with its wide-open eyes, as if it were looking at something. I hold my breath and wait a moment, keeping perfectly still, and suddenly with a little sound the mouse disappears like a whiff of wind. Ah, is this not happiness? 4. I have pulled out the hait’ang and chiching (flowering trees) in front of my studio, and have just planted ten or twenty green banana trees there. Ah, is this not happiness? 5. I am drinking with some romantic friends on a spring night and am just half intoxicated, finding it difficult to stop drinking and equally difficult to go on. An understanding boy servant at the side suddenly brings in a package of big fire-crackers, about a dozen in number, and I rise from the table and go and fire them off. The smell of sulphur assails my nostrils and enters my brain and I feel comfortable all over my body. Ah, is this not happiness? 6. I am walking in the street and see two poor rascals engaged in a hot argument of words with their faces flushed and their eyes staring with anger as if they were mortal enemies, and yet they still pretend to be ceremonious to each other, raising their arms and bending their waists in salute, and still using the most polished language of thou and thee and wherefore and is it not so? The flow of words is interminable. Suddenly there appears a big husky fellow swinging his arms and coming up to them, and with a shout tells them to disperse. Ah, is this not happiness? 7. To hear our children recite the classics so fluently, like the sound of water pouring from a vase. Ah, is this not happiness? 8. Having nothing to do after a meal I go to the shops and take a fancy to a little thing. After bargaining for some time, we still haggle about a small difference, but the shop-boy still refuses to sell it. Then I take out a little thing from my sleeve, which is worth about the same thing as the difference and throw it at the boy. The boy suddenly smiles and bows courteously saying, “Oh, you are too generous!” Ah, is this not happiness? 9. I have nothing to do after a meal and try to go through the things in some old trunks. I see there are dozens of IOUs from people who owe my family money. Some of them are dead and some still living, but in any case there is no hope of their returning the money. Behind people’s backs I put them together in a pile and make a bonfire of them, and I look up to the sky and see the last trace of smoke disappear. Ah, is this not happiness? 10. It is a summer's day. I go bareheaded and barefooted, holding a parasol, to watch young people singing Soochow fol-songs while treading the water-wheel. The water comes up over the wheel in a gushing torrent like molten silver or melting snow. Ah, is this not happiness? 11. I wake up in the morning and seem to hear someone in the house sighing and saying that last night someone died. I immediately ask to find out who it is, and learn that it is the sharpest, most calculating fellow in town. Ah, is this not happiness? 12. I get up early on a summer morning and see people sawing a large bamboo pole under a mat-shed, to be used as a water-pipe. Ah, is this not happiness? 13. It has been raining for a whole month and I lie in bed in the morning like one drunk or ill, refusing to get up. Suddenly I hear a chorus of birds announcing a clear day. Quickly I pull aside the curtain, push open a window and see the beautiful sun shining and glistening and the forest looks like it's having a bath. Ah, is this not happiness? 14. At night I seem to hear someone thinking of me in the distance. The next day I go to call on him. I enter his door and look about his room and see that this person is sitting at his desk, facing south, reading a document. He sees me, nods quietly and pulls me by the sleeve to make me sit down, saying, “Since you are here, come and look at this.” And we laugh and enjoy ourselves until the shadows on the walls have disappeared. He is feeling hungry himself and slowly asks me, “Are you hungry, too?" Ah, is this not happiness? 15. Without any serious intention of building a house of my own, I happened, nevertheless, to start building one because a little sum had unexpectedly come my way. From that day on, every morning and every night, I was told that I needed to buy timber and stone and tiles and bricks and mortar and nails. And I explored and exhausted every avenue of getting some money, all on account of this house, until I got sort of resigned to this state of things. One day, finally, the house is completed, the walls have been whitewashed and the floors swept clean; the paper windows have been pasted and scrolls and paintings are hung up on the walls. All the workmen have left, and my friends have arrived, sitting on different couches in order. Ah, is this not happiness? 16. I am drinking on a winter’s night, and suddenly note that the night has turned extremely cold. I push open the window and see that snowflakes come down the size of a palm and there are already three or four inches of snow on the ground. Ah, is this not happiness? 17. To cut with a sharp knife a bright green water-melon on a big scarlet plate of a summer afternoon. Ah, is this not happiness? 18. I have long wanted to become a monk, but was worried because I would not be permitted to eat meat. If, then, I could be permitted to eat meat publicly, why, then I could heat a basin of hot water, and with the help of a sharper razor, shave my head clean in a summer month! Ah, is this not happiness? 19. To keep three or four spots of eczema in a private part of my body and now and then to scald or bathe it with hot water behind closed doors. Ah, is this not happiness? 20. To find accidentally a handwritten letter of some old friend in a trunk. Ah, is this not happiness? 21. A poor scholar comes to borrow money from me, but is shy about mentioning the topic, and so he allows the conversation to drift along on other topics. I see his uncomfortable situation, pull him aside to a place where we are alone and ask him how much he needs. Then I go inside and give him the sum and after having done this, I ask him: “Must you go immediately to settle this matter or can you stay awhile and have a drink with me?” Ah, is this not happiness? 22. I am sitting in a small boat. There is a beautiful wind in our favour, but our boat has no sails. Suddenly there appears a big lorcha (tropical fish), coming along as fast as the wind. I try to hook on to the lorcha in the hope of catching on to it, and unexpectedly the hook does catch. Then I throw over a rope and we are towed along and I begin to sing the lines of Tu Fu: “The green makes me feel tender towards the peaks, and the red tells me there are oranges.” And we break out in joyous laughter. Ah, is this not happiness? 23. I have long been looking for a house to share with a friend but have not been able to find a suitable one. Suddenly, someone brings news that there is a house somewhere, not too big, but with only about a dozen rooms, and that it faces a big river with beautiful green trees around. I ask this man to stay for supper, and after the supper we go over together to have a look, having no idea what the house is like. Entering the gate, I see that there is a large vacant lot, and I say to myself, “I shall not have to worry about the supply of vegetables and melons henceforth.” Ah, is this not happiness? 24. A traveller returns home after a long journey, and he sees the old city gate and hears the women and children on both banks of the river talking in his own dialect. Ah, is this not happiness? 25. When a good piece of old porcelain is broken, you know there is no hope of repairing it. The more you turn it about and look at it, the more you are exasperated. I then hand it to the cook, and give orders that he shall never let that broken porcelain bowl come within my sight again. Ah, is this not happiness? 26. I am not a saint, and am therefore not without sin. In the night I did something wrong and I get up in the morning and feel extremely ill at ease about it. Suddenly I remember what is taught by Buddhism, that not to cover one’s sins is the same as repentance. So then I begin to tell my sin to the entire company around, whether they are strangers or my old friends. Ah, is this not happiness? 27. To watch someone writing big characters a foot high. Ah, is this not happiness? 28. To open the window and let a wasp out from the room. Ah, is this not happiness? 29. A magistrate orders the beating of the drum and calls it a day. Ah, is this not happiness? 30. To see someone’s kite-line broken. Ah, is this not happiness? 31. To see a wild prairie fire. Ah, is this not happiness? 32. To have just finished repaying all one’s debts. Ah, is this not happiness? 33. To read the Story of Curly-Beard (who gave up his house to a pair of eloping lovers then disappeared). Ah, is this not happiness? Posted by Maddie at 10:51 AM 4 comments: Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest The Importance of Living (6) The Importance of… Laughing Thoughts from Madison Nef You may have noticed the title change of the paper- it’s only for this one chapter. In this chapter, Yutang talks about the importance of laughter and how it is used in life. He made a good point in the first paragraph about how so many dignitaries and leaders of countries always come off as serious- in pictures, they are never seen smiling or laughing but instead frowning or staring blankly at the camera/painter with no emotion at all. He makes it a point to say that almost all dignitaries do this- except for American presidents. Yutang says that he feels that maybe American citizens like to see their president smile, so therefore he smiles- but surely other countries want to see their leader happy as well! I think the reason that more presidents smile is because our citizens have a higher amount of trust in the government than in other places. Since the president feels we already look up to and respect him, he feels no need to put on an intimidation act for us and is free to be himself, smiling and happy. Who wouldn’t be happy to be the president? Maybe in other countries, people don’t look up to their rulers in the same way and so the rulers feel that to get any respect, they must intimidate. This would account for all the sour faces and stiff, frowning and emotionless portraits. Laughing is a very large part of life, from the day we are born until the day we die. Laughing is a response often to joy or humor, but it is also a coping mechanism when one feels down or upset. Another theory states that laughter is a nervous reaction- for example, when a joke is told in a room of people it creates an inconsistency. Automatically the human brain will try to figure out what the inconsistency is, and upon realizing that it is harmless it will cause a person to laugh in relief. As Mack Sennet (actor and “King of Comedy” of his time) said, “when the audience is confused, it doesn’t laugh”. In the end, I think it all comes down to acting and how much you want people to fear and respect you. Yutang says in the chapter that the best thing he had ever read about Hitler was that while he looked stern and strict in pictures and when delivering speeches, he was quite himself otherwise and was actually humorous. To keep fear in people, I think Hitler acted serious and grumpy- who wants to listen to or be afraid of someone who is always smiling and happy? That would be like fearing Santa Claus! Yutang goes on to say that if the world’s greatest rulers were humorists, the world would be extremely peaceful- because with humor comes good sense and a reasonable spirit. Therefore, countries would be ruled by the calmest and logical people, and wars would not happen. To demonstrate his point, Yutang says to imagine a humorist representing the leaders of each country and putting them in a room together. No matter HOW HARD THEY TRIED, they would not be able to come up with a plan of war- they would be too light-hearted, happy, and calm. I quite agree- if there was more humor in the world, it WOULD be a better place. Too often people are afraid to laugh and let their real spirits show for the fear of criticism, or loss of respect. In the end… who cares what other people think of you? Even if you are a dignitary… you shouldn’t have to put on an act. If people voted you in on account of your acting, then maybe you aren’t fit to be a dignitary at all. If you are going to try for something, try as yourself- not as the image that everyone wants to see. Leave me a comment telling me your opinions on this… I’m done speaking mine. Maddie This is part two of the article I started writing last Friday, telling about what I have learned from the women I know. I will try to keep this section a little briefer than Friday's since I really rambled on a lot on that post. Today, I will talk about my Mom, my sister and finally, my wife. I have learned a lot from my Mom over the years. To start, I am almost certain that she is the person who taught me how to read and write. She has taught me so many important things that I will not mention the obvious ones here. The section would just be too long. Instead, I will mention the not so obvious ones. My Mom taught me to treat people how I myself would want to be treated. Although I sometimes forget this one, I honestly try to follow this one every day and in each interaction I have with people. Loyalty, patience and prayer are three other things that rank high on my list of things my Mom has taught me. While life hasn't exactly been easy over the past few years, prayer has helped me to see it through. Although some people, think I am impatient, nothing could be further from the truth. I have the ability to focus both my mind and my efforts and get things done. Now, that doesn't mean that I don't sometimes get impatient about things. Usually, I get impatient with small, stupid things, while for the bigger, more meaningful things I can wait a lifetime. I have known my sister my entire life, and I am still learning things from her! Michelle is a special ed teacher in Middletown New Jersey. I constantly pick her brain about different ways to teach my daughters, and she is constantly giving me great websites to try for both of my daughters. Aside from helping me teach my daughters she has taught me about friendship, and family and how to truly be there for a person. After nearly fifty years, I am proud to say she is my best friend and sister. My sister and I speak nearly every day, a habit that started when my wife was ill and I was raising the girls on my own. Michelle helped me to find a nanny and a food service, all from New Jersey while I was too overwhelmed to look for help in those initial first weeks. Michelle has taught me the true meaning of family, friendship, empathy, and so many other things. I am truly blessed to have a sister like Michelle. Too many times, people do heroic deeds and are not recognized. Often times, it's because the people who are helped just don't know how to put their gratitude into words. I really don't know how to put my gratitude for my sister's deeds (or my Mom's for that matter) into words either. I think it is very important for them to know how much I appreciate their help though, and I hope this post helps to let you know how much gratitude I have for the help the both of you have given me. When I think of all that I have gone through, and how you have stuck there by my side, I truly feel blessed. Thank you! From my wife, I have learned the most lessons of all. I learned to love, and to be loved, passion, understanding and sorrow. Her illness taught me many lessons as well. Sometimes, it is hard to separate my wife from her illness, but it is necessary. My wife was not the sum of the symptoms of her disease. Many people fail to see that. My wife taught me that oftentimes what you see on the surface is exactly what people want you to see. She taught me that people can be alone in a room full of people and that a tear drop can be hidden by the rain. That a smile could be both genuine and deceptive at the same time. My wife had the knack of seeing beauty in everyday things. She has passed that ability on to our children. She taught me to take time to smell the roses, and that memories about small, inconsequential things can be the memories that give you peace and closure later on in life. Finally, my wife taught me that every moment is precious. None of us know how long we have left in this world, or more importantly, how long our loved ones have left. She taught me (the hard way) that nothing positive you have to say to someone should be left unsaid. Believe me, words have power, and the kind words you say to someone now will have more impact than anything you can say while they lie dying in a coma. A feeling can be conveyed in a kind, word, a touch or a look. Make sure to convey your true feelings to the one you love. Tomorrow isn't always another day. And that is one of the hardest lessons to learn. Santa Claus comes in the winter. Snow flakes fall in the winter I like snow. I like to
play in the snow and build snowmen. I like to come inside when I am cold and drink hot cocoa. Ashleigh
Today, I want to dedicate this blog post to the ladies in my life, and what I have learned from each of them. I am not sure how long this post is going to be, or how accurate. I will say that what I write will be from my heart. I am going to try and put a paragraph about each, and then I will finish up with some final thoughts. Too many times, thoughts like the ones I am putting down go unsaid. We feel that the people involved know how we feel. We don't think deeply about these feelings and end up never saying them. It can lead to regrets. Regrets that you may live with for the rest of your life. I have had it with regrets. They suck, and they are not necessary. The best way to avoid them is to say what you feel. It also helps if you know what you feel! I think many people repress their feelings or not talk about them if they do recognize them. I am talking at a deeper level here. Everyone knows when they are angry or hurt. People don't seem to have problems expressing these. Many people also don't seem to have a problem saying "I love you" In fact, they will continue to say it, even while they are cheating on their spouse or neglecting their children. Talk is cheap! The feelings I am talking about here are buried deep. They are the things that you think about late at night, when you find yourself awake staring at the clock and waiting for morning. Not the negative thoughts either. I am talking about the things that you are truly grateful for. For two nights in a row I have had trouble sleeping, Each night, I thought about my life and the people in it. I realized that I am learning new things about myself and others every day. I was amazed at the different feelings of emotion I would have while thinking. Anyway, I know a lot of people. I am not mentioning everyone here. Just the ladies I have the most contact with. The below paragraphs are being done in no specific order. My grandmother has been on my mind as of late, so I am going to start with her. This is a picture of my grandmother with Maddie back in 2005. She passed away two years ago. From my grandmother I learned many things. Aside from kindness and generosity, the usual things that you learn from a grandmother you don't see often due to distance, I also learned the power of a kind word, the meaning of the word devotion and the beauty of keeping things simple. Over the forty eight years I knew my grandmother, I don't think I ever heard her speak ill about anyone. If she didn't like someone, she didn't associate with them. Period. If she heard something bad about a person, she would say that's too bad, or I'm sorry to hear that. If she had to relay on bad news, she always couched it that the person was struggling with this or that, not that they were a (put your own label here). My grandmother knew that my wife and I had gotten a divorce and that Sharon was struggling with a number of issues. Not once did she say anything disparaging about her. She would always ask about her, and afterward tell me that she was praying for her. I really appreciated that. She never pretended that Sharon no longer existed, or expressed anger about the situation. She kept it simple and allowed me to tell her what I wanted to tell her. There were times that I knew that she had already heard about something I was talking about. She allowed me to go on and tell her the situation through my perspective...never interrupted or corrected me. On occasion, she would ask me a question or two about what was happening, but the questions were always more for clarification where my own life was concerned. When we were speaking about people other than those in my immediate family, she would ask more questions about what was going on. I think this was because in her later years, others in the family would not speak to her on some issues because they did not want to worry her. I always thought this was a mistake. She actually worried more then, because she could see the worried looks when the conversation turned to certain topics or people. I was always honest with her about my troubles, and I think she appreciated that. Our visits over the last few years of her life were always pleasant, and I enjoyed the time we spent talking. My final thoughts on what my grandmother taught me are in regards to devotion. My grandfather died in 1981. My grandmother never remarried after his death. In fact, over thirty years after his death, she would still occasionally tear up if she was talking about him. Thirty one years after he died, she joined him. Rest in peace Grandma. My youngest daughter Ashleigh never ceases to amaze me. She is one of the most joyous people I know. From her, I learn how to look at life through a different, joyous lens. She wears her heart on her sleeve. Everyday, she tries to see the good in life and point it out to me. "look at the beautiful flowers!", "Oh! Look at the cute puppies!", "What a beautiful Day!" are all things she has said to me this week. It's almost as if she wants to make sure that I don't miss the little things that are making her happy. I hope she never loses that aspect of her personality. When she is sad, it is because others make her so. Fear doesn't seem to be in her vocabulary either...which worries me. I learn to slow down when I am around her. I learn patience, and understanding. While I have been trying to teach her how to read over the past few months, I think she has taught me more lessons than I have her. Ashleigh never really got to know her Mom. I brought her home alone from the hospital when she was four days old, two weeks premature and underweight and never looked back. The closest thing she has had to a mother figure has been me and my Mom. On Mother's Day, she wished me Happy Mother's Day and gave me a hug. I really appreciated that. It also shows the depth of her understanding. Amazing that she is only 5 years old. I love her very much! Her ability to read is getting better by the day. The final thing she has taught me is that not everyone learns in the same way or at the same rate. Be patient and try new things is my motto now. We'll work together. Maddie is my oldest daughter. She teaches me lots also. The things Maddie teaches me are almost limitless. At this point, speaking with Maddie is like speaking with a well educated adult, if you stick to topics she is familiar with. The fun is to get her to open up on topics that she isn't familiar with. Her leaps of logic and the intuitive way she reaches her conclusions never ceases to amaze me. She seems surprised that her friends turn to her for advice on all sorts of topics. For the most part, I am not surprised about that...The only thing that surprises me is that many of her friends are older than her, and yet they turn to her for relationship advice...even though she has never had a relationship! Maddie teaches me that friendships are important and that happiness is best found in the little things. She helps me to see that people can be older than their years and on the flip side, younger than their age too! On a lighter note, Madison is at the point where she is now teaching me about technology! Her coding skills are improving and she now is at least one language in front of me. Moreover, I learn a lot of little tricks watching her play Xbox and I enjoy the time we spend playing that game together. Finally, she has taught me that time, patience, and persistence can achieve many things. The last things I learned from Maddie is that she has a very hard left hook! Good girl Maddie! I think I will end this post here. I still have some work to finish up for my job, and I have three more ladies to write about. On Monday, I will write about my Mom, my sister, and my late wife. Have a great weekend!
Okay. First off, before I start this post, I apologize for its length... It's currently 8 minutes before its due and I have been flying through a LOT of math today. I just wanted to put out a quick post about music. I find myself throughout the year going through periods of time where I like one style of music or another- for example, I'll go through a nightcore phase and listen to nightcore music for a month straight. Or I'll listen to rock and metal music. Or pop. Or emo music. I go through different stages and I was just curious as to if I was the only one!
How can I tell? Well, I have a YouTube playlist that I listen to every day. As I find songs that I like while browsing YouTube, I just leave a like on the video and it automatically gets put into my playlist. I currently have an eclectic mix of EXACTLY ONE THOUSAND videos. Only two of them are just funny videos, to my knowledge. The rest is all different music. So... my question to you is what music do you listen to most often, and what phases do you often find yourself going through? Let me know in the comments. I myself am usually listening to rock/metal music. Maddie I am not feeling well. I don't like being sick. I am sneezing and wheezing! I hate allergy season.
Ashleigh I normally don't cross post... but today, I wrote a very nice poem that is a second part to one of my mom's poems. For those who don't know, my mom passed away about two years ago. Before she died, she loved to write poetry and one of her dreams was to publish a book of poetry. While she passed before she got that wish, my dad and I are in the process of self-publishing a book of her poetry. In it will not only be her poetry, but also some of ours and a few paragraphs explaining what the poems are about. Below is a poem my mom wrote on Mother's Day two years ago... Pt. 2 is what I wrote on Mother's Day this year. Mother's Day The strong wind blows outside the window, And home is so far away, You're gone, you left me in this place where demons roam, It's the price I have to pay. The dark blue sky weeps tears of fear, The trees stand guard and see, A woman writing all alone, Lost in her misery. Look closer still, and you will see, A little girl wrapped inside, Afraid to run, afraid to stay, So inside, petrified, she'll hide. Tomorrow is another day, Where mothers celebrate and give praise, But this Mommy sits alone and cries, And dreams of better days. The woman writing all alone, Dreams of her girls far away, Kept safe in her broken heart for now, On this very sad Mother's Day. Mother's Day (Pt. 2)
She sits alone up in her room, Talking to the walls all day, It's almost been 2 years now, Since her mother was taken away. Now it's Mother's Day again, All her friends are celebrating, All the fake smiles in the photos they post, She finds their masquerade frustrating. When they ask her how she's doing, She'll tell them that she's fine, None of them see her hidden tears, For she isn't worth their time. She enters the closet quietly, She's alone, without a doubt, She gives the urn a gentle kiss, And then lets her tears pour out. "Gone, but not forgotten", Is what everyone loves to say, But please give her daughter some consolation, On this very sad Mother's Day. I am a firm believer that if you are not happy, then the only way to become happy is to change. Makes sense doesn't it? If you are unhappy, why would you want to go on doing things the exact same way? Some people are so caught up in their funk, though, that they no longer no how to change. This post is to remind people how to change. We all need a reminder sometimes! Myself included.
The first step towards change is that you actually have to do something different. Norman Vincent Peale once wrote that even the tiniest change could help open your mind to the possibilities. He went so far as to recommend that when you get up in the morning, if you normally put your right shoe on first, then for one week you should get up and put your left one on first, just to get used to a tiny change. I don't think I need to go that far! For me, the first thing I do is make a plan on how I am going to change. Knowing myself, just changing for change's sake won't make me happy. Instead, I try to figure out what will make me happy and then make a plan on how to achieve those changes. Don't laugh! Too many people say they want to change, but then don't know what to change to make themselves happy. The not knowing what will make them happy, freezes them like a deer in the headlights! By making a plan that includes how I am going to change I know exactly what I need to do, and I have some idea on how it will make me happier. Here is a great example. Recently, I stopped working out six days a week due to overcrowding at the dojo, and I am back to working out twice a week. The change made me unhappy since I am used to working out six times a week and I find I don't lose as much weight and I am stiffer if I don't work out. To get myself back on track I have cleared out around my punching bag in the garage and raised the bag a bit. I have also cleared the junk from around my weight bench and cleaned off my old exercise bike. Now my equipment is ready to use again. That was only the first step in my plan. Already I feel happier knowing the equipment is now ready. The next step for me was to set a schedule for when I am going to work out. I work from home, thus I am often working. When I want to do something, I need to schedule it in my mind, or I'll end up working right through. That is why I liked karate classes six times a week...I had worked a schedule up so that I got my work done and knew at a certain time I was going to get away from the desk and go workout. I have now decided to workout each morning before work. I am an early bird. Each morning, I wake up around 5:15 and force myself to go back to sleep until my alarm goes off at 6:30. Call it an internal clock, but I have regularly gotten about five or six hours of sleep each night for about the past 25 years. When I try to sleep longer (unless I am sick), I feel all achy when I wake up. I am now going to work out each day before going to my desk. Here is my schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: 6:30: Get up, go to bathroom, do 100 quick pushups to warm up. Go down stairs: Lift weights for 15 minutes. Ride exercise bike for 15 minutes Do physical therapy exercises for my knee. Start work by 7:30 Tuesday and Thursday: 6:30 : Get up, go to bathroom, do 100 quick pushups to warm up. Go downstairs: Do 3 five-minute rounds on the heavy bag with 1-minute rests in between. Do physical therapy exercises for my knee. Start work by 7:30. Knowing myself, without a scheduled time to do it, I would likely put off working out. So, how do you make change to make yourself happy? 1 Actually decide what will make you happy. 2. Make a detailed plan on how you will get happy. 3. Write down your plan. 4. Schedule a set time to work on your plan each day. 5. Follow your plan! Note, it is important that you actually take action. If you don't then you didn't plan, you daydreamed! Yesterday I went to the mall with Nema and Maddie. Going to the mall is fun! I got
a beautiful, blue dress. I look like Elsa when I wear it ! I also got rainbow shorts and Maddie got things too. Ashleigh Today, i couldn't find anything to blog about. Since I was having trouble deciding on what to write about, I went to ask my younger sister. She is always full to the brim of little different ideas. Today for her blog, she wrote about our shopping trip yesterday. As she sat on the couch next to me spewing out one idea after another, I realized something- I never take joy in small and simplistic things anymore!
While my sister could come up with many topics just based off of our trip yesterday, all I could really think about was the migraine I was having and the only thing I really significantly noticed about the day before was the ache in my feet after walking around the mall for roughly 7 hours with no stops. My sister easily finds joy in tiny things- for example, we stopped for donuts after about 4 hours of shopping. She saw this as a great thing, and therefore remembered it. She talked on to no end about the new clothing she got as well- something that didn't really thrill me, yet was of great importance to her. I think it has something to do with being young. I remember when I was little, I'd get excited if my family told me we were going out to the park, or out to eat- the same things that excite my sister currently. As I got older, I found bigger things to find joy in and as I did, the smaller joys faded out into the background. These smaller joys shouldn't fade just because you find something bigger... because one day, you won't be able to find anything bigger... and then, what will you do? Moral of this post... take time to stop and smell the roses and don't let the small joys of life pass you by. Don't get so caught up in yourself that you LOSE yourself. Maddie Have you ever met a person who is afraid of technology? I have. They are usually older people and they want nothing to do with anything new. It usually starts with something simple like a VCR or DVD player, but then goes on to include almost anything new.
The original Luddites appeared in England between 1811 - 1816. These people were weavers who broke into factories to destroy machinery because they were afraid that the mechanical looms would steal their jobs. While I am sure that some people would like to break into factories and destroy the robotics to save their jobs now, these are not the Luddites I am talking about. The Luddites I am speaking specifically about are the ones who are not really afraid of the new technology, but are instead too stubborn to learn how to use the new technology. We are all guilty of this to some extent. Something new comes out and we are just too lazy to learn how to use it right away. Instead, we wait to see if we can benefit from it without having to learn something new. The DVD player...and before that, the VCR in my house is a good example. My Mom knows how to push the power button, play, and stop and that's about it. She leaves setting the clock, attaching it to the TV, plugging it in, and anything else that might make her read the booklet to me or my daughter. She has no desire to learn anything else about the system other than to turn it on or off. At one point, I actually thought my Mom was going to join the modern world. When she first moved in, she bought a computer and a Magic Jack so that she could save money on her telephone bills. I figured that it would be great for her since she would learn something about computers as well. How wrong I was! Nearly every day she has to get Maddie to go into the kitchen and plug her magic jack in. Although we have both tried to show her how to use email, voice mail and google, she refuses to learn. Today for example, she was looking for the phone number for Monadnock Hospital. She looked in her phone book for about ten minutes, before loudly stating that she couldn't find the number and didn't want to go upstairs to look for it. The whole time she looked at me expectantly as if I could magically pull the number out of my ass...So I did, sort of. I walked over to her computer and showed her the button (again) for how to pull up google. I then clicked on the input line and told her to just type Monadnock Hospital and hit enter and that the number would likely pop up on the page. Well, that wasn't good enough for her! "I don't want to type, it won't work!" Instead, she stood up and marched up stairs. Ten minutes later, she came back down and said "I found the number!". I guess that is my Mom's version of Wasting time 101! The mind is a terrible thing to waste! I hope there never comes a time in my life where I don't want to learn, and then actively take steps to make sure that I don't! Overall, I shouldn't complain. My Mom does a lot of good things around here and she keeps herself busy. It just really bothers me when the girls see her acting like a child about learning something new. Kids learn a lot by the examples that are set around them. I try to show my girls that I am willing to learn new things. Keep learning girls, and keep your sense of wonder. You have a whole world around you! Try to learn something new every day! I'm writing this post very quickly because in about 10 minutes, I have to leave. Grandma, Ashleigh and I are having a "girl's day out" today and going shopping at the Whitney Field Mall in Leominster, which is a town about 45 minutes away from where we live. All of us need new Summer outfits, seeing as we've outgrown or simply do not like our current selection of clothing.
I need shoes- I've grown 3 shoe sizes since last year, so nothing still fits me. Meanwhile, Grandma needs so good blouses and a skirt or two, and my sister needs new shorts. Hopefully, we'll be able to find all this and more while we are out. What I love about blogging is that it is quick, easy and expressive... I have to leave in just a few moments, but I've already managed to write my post. It's a great way to let out my thoughts, or to talk about my day... and in a way, it is therapeutic for me. I recommend it to anyone who gets stressed a lot or just has pent up emotion... it's a great way to let out steam, it really is. Maddie Cheesesticks are my favorite food. Meat is good for me, though, as are vegetables.
I try to eat some every day. I like to end my meal with ice cream, jello, or a cookie. Ashleigh What is a friend? Whenever I meet someone, I automatically evaluate them. What is their personality like? How do they act? What is their maturity level? Are they kind? All of these qualities make a person who they are and they all base my decision on whether or not I want to be their friend. So, today, I decided to share what traits I like in a person.
A friend to me is someone who will be there for me through thick and thin. Someone who will have my back, and I will have theirs. Someone who accepts me for who I am and doesn't expect me to change for them... because I won't. Someone who is okay with my awkward personality and my randomness and who can handle me and support me when I need it the most. I also like my friends to have a good sense of humour about them- someone who will laugh with me and at me when I need it, and vice versa. I like people who are nice, and who don't backstab- I hate backstabbers and I refuse to tolerate liars. Someone who I can vent WITH- not just me dumping on them or them dumping on me. Friendship has to be even, or nothing works. Friends like this are very hard to come by- someone funny, honest and loyal. Thankfully, I have a few friends like this whom I trust and care deeply about... if you haven't found a friend like this, you will soon. When you do, be careful to not let them go... they are few and far between. Maddie Have you ever wondered whether the entire world has gone insane? I do it nearly every time I pop open Face Book! Out of all the people on my friends list, I think maybe five of them post things that are not whinging or complaining. Nearly everyone else is complaining about something! They may not complain directly, but their posts certainly do! Whether it be gay rights, abortion, genocide, religion, politics, or sports, most of them just can't seem to stop complaining or whining!
It gets tiresome. From here on out, I am going to block feeds from people who are just too depressing or annoying to keep on my timeline. I don't mind an occasional rant against this or that, but when it is a constant barrage of negativity or whining it really gets annoying. With that said, what do you wonder about? The above two paragraphs were just a rant to get it out of my system. This site is called Mountain Rants you know. On a more positive note, I wonder about many things...the meaning of life, whether there is life after death, What is happiness? These are questions that are hard to answer and likely also have more than one answer anyway! I love to read about the past and see if what I read matches up with what we were taught in history class in school! The internet is like a gigantic library, with answers at your fingertips! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending how you look at it) the answers I find on the internet usually lead me to more questions. "Question everything!" That's a great quote and one I like to live by. I think I first saw it on the X-files some years ago. At the time, it really didn't have any meaning to me. Now, it has so much more depth to it. I like to question the why of things. The more I search for answers, the more questions I come up with. It keeps me occupied. So do I have opinions on any of the things I was complaining about above? Of course I do! I just don't care to share those thoughts usually. Time is a man-made construct. We invented it to give us points of reference. The problem is, that we don't know whether what we use as our current base of time has always been the same. If it hasn't, then the way we look at history could be altered. A second problem with time as we know it is that as a man-made construct, it likely isn't reliable for use in scientific calculations. Let me try to give some examples: There are a number of ancient texts, the Bible and the Sumerian Kings list to name two, that note people with incredibly long life spans. In each instance the people mentioned lived for hundreds of years. Scholars have a tendency of writing these cases off as the author just want to show how important the people were to their civilizations. This sounds a little dodgy to me. The records were being kept by someone who was obviously literate...they were writing weren't they? Yet we are to believe that they would extend a historical figure's life span by unrealistic multiples just to show how important they were? Not only that, but that this unlikely and odd circumstance would occur spontaneously in disparate cultures? I highly doubt that. So how can we account for the longevity of these ancient peoples? My theory is that these people did live traditional life spans, but that our time references changed without us realizing it! Think about how we reference time. We consider a day one rotation around the earth's axis. Meanwhile, a year is one rotation of the earth in its orbit around the sun. If ancient peoples also used these definitions, then changes in the earth's velocity in its journey around the sun and changes in the earth's rate of spin around its own axis could be the cause of discrepancies between ancient ages and what we believe are possible. Remember, there was no mechanical time keeping back then. All time keeping was done through astronomical movements, sun dials etc. As long as shadows continued to move around a sundial, no one would be able to tell differences in time. The best way to try to picture what I am trying to explain is to think of a pool ball. When you hit a cue ball in a specific place you can get a specific type of spin. It is well documented that the earth has been hit by a number of asteroids in the past. Some scientists even theorize that the moon was created when a planet sized object struck the earth! My theory is that one of the asteroids that have hit earth during our recent past increased our velocity in our path around the sun. At the same time, it changed the speed in which we rotate on our own axis. Again, think of a pool ball that has just been hit by a cue ball. Sometimes the ball doesn't move from its spot, but instead spins very quickly. I suspect that a number of mysteries can be cleared up by my theory. To start, scientists already believe that an asteroid hit led to an extinction event among dinosaurs. Currently the largest land animal alive is the African elephant. The muscle structure necessary for even larger animals would be extraordinary under current levels of gravity. A massive change in the rate of our spin around our the earth's axis would explain why dinosaurs could exist in our past, yet wouldn't be feasible now. The increased spin has increased the earth's gravity to the point where the dinosaurs would be too heavy to support their own weight. The increased spin would also help to explain the change in our climate. In the past, large swaths of the earth were covered in tropical fauna. Evidence of this has been found in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Tropical climates are usually very humid. If the earth spun very slowly in our past, the atmosphere was likely much different. I suspect that a slower rotation of the earth and less gravity led to an atmosphere that was filled with water vapor. There is evidence that water levels were once much lower than they are today. Where did all of the extra water come from? While some of the water came from melting glaciers fairly recently (the last ice age), we need to remember that many areas of the globe had tropical climates at one point...not ice. So where did all of the extra water come from? I suspect that it came from our atmosphere once our rotation changed leading changes in the hydrologic cycle. Air currents are an important part of our hydrologic cycle. Without the transfer of cool air to warmer climates, we really wouldn't have precipitation. The earth would be enveloped in an almost perpetual mist. I suspect that a change in the velocity around our own axis lead to air currents, which helped to start the process we call the hydrologic cycle. When this process first started, I imagine that a deluge likely ensued...say forty days and forty nights of non-stop rain. Large areas of the earth were likely flooded. Nearly all cultures worldwide have a flood "myth". Could the story of Noah, and the stories of other flood survivors have some basis in fact? The longer life spans reported for "pre-flood" rulers would also be explained by an asteroid hit that not only increased the spin on our axis, but also increased the velocity of our trip around the sun. Remember, for thousands of years man has measured time by counting our revolutions around the sun. Some of you may split hairs and say we measured time by using the movements of other planets or the moon, etc. etc. While that may be so, the most accurate calendars were always based off of the movement of the sun or planets. At any rate, if at one time the earth was spinning more slowly on its axis, but at the same time was making its way around the sun at a faster clip, this would explain the longer life spans of the people who lived prior to the flood. I don't think their ages were recorded incorrectly, I just think our reference points changed. Our definition didn't change...and our observations didn't change, but our references points changed in a way that we, as a people failed to understand. That's my theory anyway. |
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