Test, Test, Test. . .

Well, the common core junk is done so far.  Now we just have to get through the regular EOG stuff.  That will be next week for the middle school.  Sprat said that the science common core was easy.  Ok, so I am a little worried about that.  He seemed to think he did well, I guess we get to agonize over it for the summer.  What ever happened to the "final exam" we used to take in school?  The teachers created it so they knew that they had at least gone over the material that was in the test.  The teacher graded the test, so you knew you would find out your grade by the end of school.  The idea of common core is good on paper but, in reality I don't think it is as good as everyone has raved over.
Big T is done with his testing.  I hope he did well, I am afraid I threw my inability to take tests on him.  Sprat takes after dear hubby and Big T takes after me, poor kid.  I have gotten better at test taking in my old age though, so maybe there is hope for my boys.

Common Core testing. . .

The middle school started the common core testing yesterday.  I asked my oldest how things went, he was not very happy.  This kid routinely does very well on tests.  He drives me nuts because he does not study and prepare ahead of time.  I have tried to tell him he needs to start actually opening a book and studying but he insist he knows the information.  He has done well thus far so I really cannot punish him for not studying.  I asked him why he was upset about the test.  He said it was mostly on government.  Now this is a new test for our area.  This is the first year we have used the common core curriculum and supposedly this test grade is going to go toward their end of year grade in this course.  This was his Social Studies test he took yesterday.  I have seen the work they completed in class and some of the tests they have taken this year and I have to say I do not remember seeing anything on government.  He said they spent maybe a couple of days on government.  The work I have seen has been on Africa, Asia, and their government and geography.  I guess my question is how can you hod a student accountable for information that was not taught?  I don't always believe my kids when they tell me they did or did not go over something in class because I know my kids have a selective memory.   Kids also seem to stretch the truth in their favor too.  I am just curious what others have to say about this test.  I would love to know your thoughts.

Computer Security update. . .

So I have been a little under the weather and trying to stay up to date with my class in computer security.  I have to tell you there is a lot out there that I was not aware of.  We have been reading articles about security and how to protect your computer from hackers and spam.  For instance, did you know that spammers run all probable email combinations to send out their emails?  So if your email address is your first initial and your last name then you probably will get a lot of spam mail.
So you should make your email address a little more complicated.  You could also have two emails; one for family and friends and one to use when doing things online or for your customer reward cards.    Some of these are common sense and you may be doing them, if so good job.  With regard to email, if you do not know who the sender is do not open the email or click on any links in the email.  If you receive an email from someone that you know but it looks suspicious follow that gut instinct and don't open it.  This could be spam, a virus, or a worm and you don't want any of those.   Hackers can attach a link and if you click on that link then they will have a backdoor into your computer system and ALL of your information.  They could also use your computer to send spam email and attack others.   Just be safe and follow your gut.  If you think it is suspicious call that person and ask them if they sent you something.  Happy and safe surfing.

The Drug talk with the kids. . .

I am not sure how we got on this subject but I am glad we did.  Any time I have my kids in the car is a good time for me to throw things at them and catch them off guard.  I usually ask them something about drugs or sex.  I feel like if I catch them off guard I will get an honest answer or an honest reaction.  I started with Sprat of course and asked him if he had heard anyone talking about doing drugs.  I was shocked when he said yes.  I said ok, what did you hear?  He could not remember specifics but he had heard people talking about smoking pot.  He did not know the kids but he said they were in his grade.   I began my talk on the evils of drugs.  I told him he would have people that would try to get him to try it.  They would even say, one time would not hurt you.  I also told him that was a lie!  You can die from trying it just one time.  There is a laundry list of people that have died from trying drugs just one time.    We also talked about how some of these people will be your friends and try to use your friendship to try and get you to do things like, steal prescriptions from your medicine cabinet and bring them to school or the ball field.  Big T was listening too, I hope he was paying attention.   Dear hubby talked to them about what a complete waste it is to do drugs.  It is a waste of time, money and your brain cells.  He told them about guys he knew from College that had done drugs and how they lost scholarships and had to drop out of school.  I didn't know anyone in College that did drugs but I did know some in high school.  It is very sad, and it is never too early to start that talk with your kids so that they are aware of the things that can happen.  If they know in advance then they are better equipped to handle the situation if faced with it.

Crazy wonderful day, yesterday. . .

So, my parents came to see the kids yesterday.  They came to Church with us and I was late.  I had to leave early to follow the choir to the baseball field.  Dear hubby made sure my Mom and Dad got to the fellowship building to have lunch and then drove them over to the ball field.  Big T got to participate in the pre-game parade around the field for his minors baseball team.  They are celebrating  a win for the regular season with a 14-1 record.  So proud of those boys, they have worked so hard this season.  After the parade around the field Big T had to race around to the other side of the field and change shirts so he could join Sprat to sing the National Anthem with the Grateful Choir.  I was one proud Mom yesterday.  Our choir rocked the National Anthem.  This group of young people have beautiful voices, I got to listen to them warm up before they went out for the sound check.  This is an amazing group of kids.
I did finally get to sit down and talk with my folks during the ball game.  We had a little rain and a little delay but we had great seats and did not get wet at all.  A wonderful day for our house.  So thankful for the day.

Stolen Credit Cards. . .

I have posted on this before, and will post on it again.  I want everyone to be informed and to be safe.  I ran into a dear friend at school this morning.  She was telling me about their debit card number being stolen and used at an online store for a couple hundred dollars.  They disputed it and filed a police report so that the bank would put the money back.  My friend also told me that several of her friends had told her that the same thing had happened to them.   She also said they told her that some of this had been traced back to some local places we all frequent.  I blamed Wal Mart, because that was the only place my dear hubby had used both of his cards that were compromised.  I only use cash at Wal Mart now and I only use cash for things like Pizza and at grocery stores.  It is sad that you cannot trust anyone anymore.  I am afraid it is only going to get worse.  You also have to be careful at ATM's because devices can be put on them to track your account numbers and your pin number.  This same device can be used at the gas pump as well.  Keep track of your accounts, keep track of your checks and balance that check book.   I did not used to do this and I would have been out a good bit of money if I had not been checking on my accounts when our incident happened.

Summer School. . .

I am taking one class this summer, a security concepts class.  I got my book and have been looking over it.  Lots of good information.  I have a feeling this summer you may be getting a lot of posts about computer security.  I ended up with 2 A's in my first session.  So very excited, and the more I hear on the news and read in the paper the more I am sure I have picked a great curriculum to study.  
Here is my first tip for my readers;  according to the security gurus, soon any password with fewer than 12 characters will be vulnerable to attacks.  Oh, and for those that like to frequent the coffee shops and use their WiFi, you are opening yourself up for identity theft, viruses, malware, and spyware.  If everyone can access it and use it then everyone can also gain access to your computer too, if they want to.

Parents under peer pressure. . .

You might not think parents can be under peer pressure but, we can fall into it if we are not careful.  This kinda goes along with the cell phone issue.  Sprat started again on the whole, "I need a cell phone" jag.   I have told him repeatedly that he does not need a cell phone.  His reasoning this time is that he wants to stay in touch with his friends over the summer.  I told him he could use the house phone if he wanted to talk with his friends.  That did not seem to satisfy him.  Thank goodness my hubby stands firm with me on this subject.  I think if we, as parents, were divided this might be a harder issue to deal with.   This is a form of parental peer pressure.  All the other kids' parents let them have a phone so why can't I?  I vow to hold to this one.  I will not bow to peer pressure.  I hope that by standing on my values that my kids learn something.  As parents we have to show our kids; values, morals, and ethics.  If we don't set good examples our kids are going to follow the pack.  I know I am weird but, lately I don't like what I see that most think is normal.   Normal seems to be two parents working to make ends meet and buying their kids the latest in technology just so they fit in.  Buying their kids brand new cars that they cannot afford just so their kids fit in.  I vow my kids are going to be weird!  They are not going to fit the norm.   They will not have cell phones till I deem it is a necessity and they will not be getting new cars, they will be lucky if they get a car at all.    I like being weird  and I am going to teach my kids the joy of being weird too.  It may take a little longer before they get it but they will understand some day and I hope they will teach their kids the same.

Update on the Squirrel front. . . .

My new feeder is very cool, the birds are enjoying it.  My fat little squirrel however, is not having any fun.  He has taken a few twirls around on it and is not happy.  He went flying around at least 4 times before he let go yesterday.  He has gone around by two feet and then by all four feet.  He is still trying to figure out a way to get to that food.  The kids and I have just belly laughed at him being flung about.  I was feeling a little guilty about the poor thing not having anything to eat so we picked up a squirrel block for him.  It is whole kernel corn pressed into a brick shape with sunflower seeds and something else I cannot remember.  It hangs from a shepherds crook up near the woods.  My dear little squirrel has not found it yet, but you will never guess what has.   A giant crow.  He swoops down and bangs it with his feet so that the corn comes flying off.  It is like a regular little wild kingdom in my backyard these days.  I think my cat birds are nesting too, they have been rather aggressive the past few days.  The poor little deprived squirrel, dizzy from his carousel ride, also got dive bombed by the cat bird yesterday.

Happy Mother's Day. . . .

For all the Moms, I hope your families treat you like a Queen today.  We celebrated last night with steaks on the grill, peppers and onions on the grill, and a fresh out of the garden salad with spinach.  Yummmm!!  I do not normally eat red meat but I have to tell you these were the best little fillets in the world.  We picked them up at our local meat market, three 6 oz and one 9oz for around $18.  We could not pass that up.  I even got my presents early.  heeheeheehee   Dear hubby got me a new bird feeder that is squirrel proof, and a new heavy duty shepherds crook to hang it on.  This particular feeder has a battery operated squirrel flinger on it.  If anything heavier than a bird tries to perch on it, it whirls them around and throws them off.  I have seen video of how this works, not only will I get to enjoy my birds but I will also enjoy seeing my fat squirrels being thrown for a loop if they try to get on it.  ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!!  My birds have been slow to arrive at their feeder this morning but they are beginning to show some interest.  I also got a new front door mat that is really nice.  I think my little feeder is going to bring me hours of entertainment.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your families!!!

Day Date with Hubby. . .

This week has been absolutely crazy and my dear Hubby and I have not gotten to see or talk with each other very much.  I was packing lunches for school and getting breakfast ready and my dear hubby comes in and tells me he has taken the day off to spend it with me.  I love that man.  We went to breakfast and of course plant shopping again.  I know you think where am I going to put anything else green.  We went to a local nursery and oh my goodness they had so many pretty things.  You know how people talk about what they would do if they had unlimited money, well if I had unlimited money I would probably spend a good portion of it on plants.  I love fresh flowers and all herbs.  We picked up some cucumbers, cause I love my veggies and some portulaca for the front flower bed.  The portulaca will replace my dying pansies.   It would not do for me to work at a plant nursery.  Hubby and I had a great morning together shopping, eating and just being together.

More on the hobo front. . .

I was talking with one of my friends the other day and we got on the subject of pan handling.  We were talking about all the people that are standing on the corner begging for money.  They don't even go through the pretense anymore of saying, "will work for food," because that is a lie and everyone knew it.  They just say need money and then through in a "God Bless You," for good measure.   Please do not get me wrong, I know there are people out there down on their luck and in need.  I also know the people that really are in need are not the ones standing on the corner begging for money.  The people that really need help are too proud to ask for a hand out.  So here is the rub; my friend and I were talking and she said that one of her friends was in the Waffle House one night late and she looked around and all the guys that stand on the corners were there.  They were laughing and joking about how much money they had made that day.  One pulled out his cell phone to call his wife and tell her he was on his way home.  Now, the Waffle House part is hear say but, think about it the next time you start to give them money.  If you would like to make a donation where it would really help people in need, look to your Salvation Army, GoodWill, and if you are near Winston-Salem look to Sunnyside Ministries or the Samaritan Inn.  All of these places work to help those that are truly in need.  I am not saying this to be callous or heartless, I know there are people in need but, I do have an issue with people just asking for a hand out.  Just a thought.

Hobos and other stuff. . . .

Big T calls anyone that is standing around on the side of the road a hobo or a bum.   This started when he was very little and had just started talking.  Now that he is older and there are so many people out on the side of the road these days it has gotten more frequent.  We were in town the other day and there were a  group of people milling about out on the corner from a restaurant and T said, "look it's a bum convention."  I admonished him and told him that not everyone on the side of the road was a bum or a hobo.  These folks were actually waiting on the bus.  He replied oh, it's the bum bus.   Some days it is so hard to hold it all together.   I told you all of this to tell you the following.   Dear hubby travels a lot and always stops in Sheetz to grab a drink and a snack, he knows most of the managers of the Sheetz in North Carolina.  He had stopped in one today and this manager had actually been in two other stores dear hubby frequents.  They made some small talk and then got on the subject of people begging for money and loitering.  The manager was talking about a woman that would ask for money all the time for gas.  He said he had run her off at two other stores for the same thing.  This particular woman had also hit up my hubby for money so, he knew exactly who the guy was talking about all the way down to the fact she was driving a beat up old red pick up truck.  So anyone that frequents the Sheetz, be on the look out for this woman.  She sometimes has a man in the truck with her.  She is asking for gas money but never puts any gas in the truck.

School finishing up. . for me

My computer class is over and I just finished my last project for Ethics.  I finished up with the computer class with a 98/A for the semester.  I am pretty excited about that.  I turned in my term paper for Ethics on pornography for an A.  My last project was to research a recent law and do a power point presentation on it.  That was an interesting assignment.  I picked a law that had passed the House and was still in the Senate. I researched a cyber security law that deals with sharing information between the government and the private sector with regard to cyber terrorism.  I hope this one passes, but it has a lot to overcome with the civil liberty groups.  My power point presentation was pretty cool, it was my first one and I think I did a pretty good job.
After all the research I did for my term paper on pornography I started looking in to how I can better protect my family.  The pornography industry has free rein on the internet.  There are no laws governing them or protecting our children.  I am using Norton antivirus software and they have a free add-on called Norton Family.  Norton family deals mostly with protecting your children from pornography and pedophiles while surfing.  If you would like more information about how to protect your children check out one of these sites:  www.netnanny.com and  www.staysafeonline.org.   They both have good information about how to protect your family.  https://metacert.org  this site has free software you can download to help protect your family while they are on the net.
The pornography industry thrives on the fact that unsuspecting people stumble on their websites.  That is why they use common names for some of their website addresses.  In fact did you know that www.whitehouse.com used to be a porn site?  Yes, children doing simple research for school could stumble on pornography by looking up something as simple as the White House.  This is the seedy side of the internet that we want to protect our families from.  Do some research, check things out, and keep a watch of your history on your computer.  The internet is wonderful place to find good information but, it is also a dangerous place for your children to be by themselves.

Good health and stuff. . . .

One of my friends posted on Facebook the other day about how she was tired and was having a bad day.  I asked, just out of curiosity, if she was taking a multivitamin    She said no, she was not taking one on a routine basis.  The reason I asked, was because my parents have been taking vitamins since I was in at least the seventh grade.  My Mom used to sell  the Shaklee line of vitamins and such.  She does not sell anymore but both Mom and Dad still take vitamins every day.  A little background on my folks; they are in their 80's and Dad works out at the gym in the morning at 4 am.  Mom does not work out as regular as Dad does but she goes when she can.  My Dad started taking blood pressure medicine in his late 70's, Mom started later than Dad on her blood pressure medicine.  Dad also takes a cholesterol medicine.  I know there are people that are my age that take more medicine than they do.  I attribute their good health first to their diet, then regular exercise, and last but certainly not least the vitamins.   We all need that boost of minerals and nutrients we get from vitamins.   We could eat healthy all day long and there are still things we would not get from our diet.  I take a multivitamin for women,  B complex, and MSM (mineral supplement for joints).   I can tell a difference in my mood when my hormones surge if I have not been taking the B complex.   I do not sell vitamins or anything else so this is not a sells pitch.  I just believe in trying to take care of my body, I owe it to my family and to the good Lord above.   I am over weight myself and I am trying to work on that through my diet and exercise.  Since our Sweet B came into our lives almost 2 years ago I have been walking more regularly and have lost over 20lbs.  I am taking it off slowly and I am good with that.  I feel like if I take it off slowly I will be able to keep it off.  I am not doing any program or taking drugs to lose the weight, just exercise and watching what I eat.  Our garden is really going to help me achieve my goals this year.  I always eat better when we have a garden.  I have already been eating fresh broccoli, radishes, lettuce and spinach all out of our garden.  
I encourage you all, if you are not exercising, just add a little walk in the morning or after dinner.  I am not talking about a 30 minute anything.  Just a short jaunt 10 minutes to start and gradually increase your time over several weeks.  I start my day with a walk and that gives me energy to tackle everything I have to do.  Good Luck and Good Health!!