30 hours of Famine

Our Church youth group is participating in a fundraiser with World Vision.  They are going to try and go 30 hours without food.  This is to help our youth and others realize what true hunger really is.  My oldest cannot go 2 hours without eating, so I am not sure how he will do.  They are going to allow them water, juice and fruit.  They will also be given small meals, that will mirror the countries where World Vision serves.  I have already learned a few things just looking over the brochure.  "More than 46 million Americans are living below the poverty line-the most since the late 1950's.  More than 16 million children live in food insecure households." (World Vision brochure 2012)  These are sad statistics for our country.   A portion of the money we raise will go to the US.
The kids will start their fast at home and will be on the honor system and will try to go without food until they meet with their youth group and two other Churches for a small meal.  This meal will represent what one child receives in a day in one of the countries World Vision serves.  Through out their 30 hours they will have plenty of water and fruit available and may eat if they need to.  Since Jack has migraines I am not sure how he is going to fare through all of this.  What an adventure though?  As we get closer I will post more on the details.

Here is another consumer finance alert. . .

Received a notice yesterday that one of our debit cards may have been compromised.   This is from a different bank than the one I previously posted about.  So that is two cards from two different banks that have been compromised.  One was a Visa the other MasterCard.  The only thing they have in common besides us is that they were both used at Wal Mart.  I will not be using a debit card at Wal Mart again.  There is something fishy going on there.  I reported the previous theft to the sheriffs' department and they have a gentleman that is dedicated to this type of thing only.  He said there have been a rash of this going on here and they are trying to pin down where it is coming from.
Since going through the Dave Ramsey class last year I have seriously cut down where I use my cards so it is really easy to know if it is us or if it is theft.  Dave, I gotta thank you for that.  No credit card debt and do not plan on using them at all again.  These last few weeks of dealing with people stealing our information has really put me on the defense when it comes to who I deal with and what means of payment I use.  We should  really be more careful about who has access to our bank information.  The times are changing and there is an unsavory element out there just waiting for the right moment.

School for the Kiddos. . .

I am very proud of my boys, they both worked very hard this grading period.  Jack made all A's and Thomas made all B's and one C in math.  It is a high C though and he worked very hard for his C.  Thomas was a little upset, he thought he had pulled a B.  He said he will work harder this session so he can get at least a B.  He said they are doing fractions now and they are easy.  Gotta love his outlook.
Jack was upset his A's were not higher.  I told him if he opened a book they might be higher next time.  He is just like his daddy he absorbs information.  Unfortunately for Thomas he took after me and will have to fight and study everyday to get his B that he so desires.  It is hard when you have one child that excels without effort and one that you know needs a good 4 hours a day studying.  I love them both so much and want them to be able to do whatever they choose in their adult life.  I know that they are going to have to work and fight so that they will be able to get into a good college.  Jack has his sights set on the University of Miami and Thomas has said he might want to go into the military.  Thomas going into the military scares me but I know he is drawn to it.   He reads about military history all the time and probably knows more about military and war history than the average person.  That he gets from his daddy.  My dear hubby is a walking history book.

My first paper. . .

I turned in my first Ethics paper on computers in schools.  It was an opinion paper on the good and bad of technology used in schools.  I interviewed my niece, a senior in an area high school, and she had a lot of good information to tell me about the technology they use.  I was really nervous about writing since I have not been in school in many years.  I made a 100 on this paper and I am just giddy with excitement.  My instructor wrote on the comments, "well done."
I am very excited about everything I am learning, not only from the textbook but, things I am learning about myself.  I have started my second paper and it is about which ethical theories I follow in my life and what theory I think everyone else follows.  There  are eight basic theories on ethics, the study of ethics date back to Socrates.  A few of these are basic and kind of go along with each other, they have only subtle differences. Ethical Egoism, this one bothered me, this is the one that I think a good portion of the population follows.  I am sure they do not knowingly follow this like a doctrine or anything but it is a good description.  In ethical egoism you look out for your own best interest.  You only do something for someone else if it first benefits you.
I cannot wait to see how I do on this paper.   It is an opinion paper and goodness knows I have a lot of those.  Check back with me later to see about my term paper on pornography and the cyber crime issues surrounding that industry.

Please be aware. . .

Please be aware of your bank statements and account balances.  I found an unusual amount on my dear hubbys' debit card.  I called the bank because, I was pretty sure it was not him and sure enough it wasn't.  The charge was to a store out of state.  While I was on the phone to the fraud department of my bank whoever has the number tried to us it again in another store, same chain, and same state but down the road in a different town.  The bank was able to block that transaction, thank goodness.  My husband still had his card in his possession so, someone stole the number some how.  He does not use his card online so I am not sure where the breach of the number occurred.
This was a national chain so, I looked their corporate information up and sent them an email to let them know this had happened.  The chain was very cooperative and has been very helpful in getting the security tapes to the County Sheriff.  If I had not been so OCD about checking our balances and checking our accounts this could have been so much worse.  As it stands, we are still out over $200 and it is still under investigation but, they only used it once and not numerous times as I am sure they intended.  
Please keep your eye on your accounts, I don't want anyone to have to go through this.

Going back to school. . .

I am going back to school.  I have been thinking about this for a long time and just never had enough nerve.  Well, I got my nerve up around the first of November and applied to our Community College.  I applied to their Cyber Crime Technology program.  I was accepted and started classes this month.  I am really excited.  I am also very nervous.  It has been almost twenty years since I have been in school.  I am taking only two classes to start, I want to make sure I am going to be able to handle this and still take care of my kiddos.  They are, after all, my primary focus.  
I am finding that I have new energy in all aspects of my life since I started classes.  I know that sounds hokey, but I do feel that way.  I am taking a basic computer class and an ethics class.  I just finished my first paper for my ethics class.  I am kinda nervous to see how I measure up.  I am excited about the computer class and I am learning a lot.  I have turned in two projects for the computer class and working on two more.  The computer class is making me feel a little old but, the ethics class is very interesting.
I will be blogging on this topic more frequently, because I am sure I am not the only one going back to school or thinking about going back to school.
Here is to a wild and crazy 2013.

Sweet Basil

My dear sweet Basil has not been feeling well.  She is our Puggle baby, my only daughter.  It is so hard when your animals are not feeling well.  They can't say my tummy hurts or my back hurts.  They can only look at you  with their big beautiful eyes and hope that you can figure out what they are trying to say.
Basil was trying to tell us her back and neck was hurt.  Thank goodness we took her to see our Vet, The Village Vet to get checked out.  If you are in the Davidson County area I HIGHLY recommend them to everyone.  They figured out what was wrong with my sweet Basil and with some medication and rest she is on the mend.  We are so happy!!!  She is not just a dog, as I am sure most feel about their pets, she is part of the family.  Like I said she is my only daughter.  She is lying here now sleeping and getting the rest that Dr. Waller said she needed.  She has acted more like herself  today and I am so glad.  It is amazing how much our pets affect how we feel and how we look at things.  I can just look at her sweet puppy face and it makes me smile.  She runs to meet us at the door if we have been gone and gives a high pitched wahoooo.  That always makes me laugh.  Thank you to the Village Vet for getting her back on her feet and putting that wiggle back in her step.