Aggravated and Venting

I'm writing my RBE on pregnant teens and teen moms.  I am a high school teacher's assistant so I thought that in the long run doing this RBE would be helpful to me. 

Yesterday one of my students told me that she was pregnant.  I'm so disappointed.  I'm trying very hard not to be cynical or negative about that whole thing, but it is very hard.  This particular student is 18, but she is a Special Ed student and has the mental capacity of about a 10 year old.  I'm not surprised that she got pregnant, given her home life and the things I've heard her talk about.  I'm just so concerned about the welfare of that baby that she's carrying now.  She does not have the mental capacity to take care of an infant.  She's going to need a lot of help.  I have referred her to several places including the site where I did most of my observations for my RBE.  Hopefully she will heed my advise and go to one of those agencies to get some help.  I think the reason why this upsets me so much is that my best friend has be trying to get pregnant for 3 years with no luck and this student goes out and gets pregnant right away.  The future does not look bright for my student or her baby.  I'm praying that things will change and hopefully while she's pregnant she learns a thing or to that will help her on her new journey. 

Happy Veteran's Day!

I'd just like to take this time to thank all our past, present, and future veterans of the armed forces.  As a former military spouse, I know personally the sacrifices that many men and women make everyday to serve and protect this nation.  We are blessed to live a country that has all the freedoms and liberties that we do.  I think many of us take those freedoms for granted.  I know that I do.  It's not intentional (I don't think any of us intentionally take for granted the freedoms we have in this great nation).  Many of us have no idea what it would be like to live in a country that didn't allowed the freedoms that we have in the United States.  We don't understand persecution other people face in other countries.  We are lucky.  So, today, take a moment to reflect on the things you take for granted.  Then thank a vet because without the brave men and women that sign up to defend our freedoms, we would not be the great nation that we are today.

Did you vote?

I can't ever understand it when people don't vote.  Some say it's because there isn't anyone "good" to vote for, others I believe are just plain lazy.  They don’t want to take the time to go to the polling place and fill out a ballot.  Why???  We are privileged to be living in a country that allows us to have a say in the way our government is run.  Why wouldn't you want to give your opinion?  The first time I was old enough to vote I was excited about it.  I felt like I had a say in what was eventually going to affect me.  There have been times, especially during non-presidential elections where I didn't really know a lot about candidates and I felt like it didn't affect me, but then I did some research and picked the best candidate for me.  Whether you believe it or not, every vote counts.  Besides, if you don't vote you can't complain about how the system is run. 

Go here and vote in my poll:  http://snappoll.com/poll/347286.php      

Better For Us or China?

In the Economics class I help in, the students were watching a DVD called "Is Wal Mart Good for America".  They have been discussing the different types of economies and governments.  In this movie it talks a lot about the growth of the Chinese market and the shift in the manufacturing jobs to China.  This have been an obvious issue in America for many years.  In this movie one of the economists argues that the Chinese manufacturing jobs don't hurt Americans...in fact they help them by making goods that are cheaper to buy, thus leaving more money for Amercians to spend on other things.  I don't agree with this.  I think that we are shipping our raw materials overseas and getting cheap products in return.  The Chinese people are the ones who will benefit to the most from this.  By not manufacturing our goods we are forcing ourselves dependant on other nations. If we look back at our own history we can see that during the Civil War this happened between the North and South.  The South had a lot of the raw materials and they would ship them to the North to manufacture the goods.  What happened to the North?  They got richer and stronger which in turn, lead to the North winning the war.  The North winning was a good thing, but it shows that the part of the country that was able to produce its own goods was stronger.  How can anyone think it will benefit us to eliminate our manufacturing jobs and send them overseas??

Update

It's been a month since my had the Lap Band surgery.  I am now 30 lbs. lighter!  I feel much better, but I know I have a long way to go until I reach my weight loss goal.  The first few weeks after surgery were tough for me.  I was only allowed to have pureed foods and could only eat about 2-4oz.  at a time.  It really limited me to what I could eat.  I was exhausted all the time and still sore from surgery.  It made me cranky and I felt like I was snapping everyones' heads off.  After about 3 weeks the soreness went away and I started to regain my energy.  I graduated up to soft foods, now consuming about 3-6 oz at a time.  Today, I can eat most foods, but still no breads or fibrous fruits or vegetables like lettuce or pineapple.  I eat between 700-900 calories a day.  I can honestly say I am not hungry.  I feel satisfied with about 6-8oz. at a meal.  I go back to the doctor this week and will find out if I am cleared to begin an exercise routine.  I can't see any reason why I wouldn't be.  I am excited about my wight loss and I hope that I can continue being successful.

Surprise, Surprise

I read in the New York Post today about one of the Chilean miners who was rescued.  Fifty year old, Yonni Barrios, had been cheating on his wife of 28 years.  Apparently his wife and mistress did not know about each other until the miners became trapped.  They each came to the sight to set vigils for Yonni.  They then realized that they were setting vigils for the same person.  Then when Yonni learned of his awaiting rescue, he asked both is wife and his mistress to be there when he emerged.  His wife did not show up.  She said she was happy that he was safe, but she had too much "decency" to be there with his mistress.  Reportedly, Yonni wanted his wife and mistress to be friends. 
I can't believe how bold this man is!  He seriously thinks his wife will want to be friends with the woman he is cheating on her with?!?  What would you do if you were in the wife's position?  What would be your first reaction?  I think I would have wanted to meet him there when he surfaced only to push him back into that hole!  People never cease to amaze me.

It's Time For Action!

My students in one of my classes are reading Life Strategies For Teens by:  Jay McGraw (Dr. Phil's son).  They are learning the "life laws" which are: 

• You either get it or you don't.
• You create your own experience.
• People do what works.
• You cannot change what you don't acknowledge.
•  Life rewards action.
• There is no reality only perception.
• Life is managed; it is not cured.
• We teach people how to treat us.
• There is power in forgiveness.
• You have to name it before you can claim it. (McGraw)

They just finished reading about life law number five, life rewards action.  They were asked to think of three important people in their lives.  Then they were asked to list what would be left unsaid if they unexpectedly lost those people.  The purpose of the activity is to make students think about taking action to say those things to the important people in their lives.  They just read about how life rewards action and that if you do nothing you will have nothing.  It isn't enough for them to simply write down and think about what they want to say to those people.  They have to actually take action for those people to know how they feel.

This lesson can relate to many things as well as many age groups.  Think about something that you have wanted to do, but never took the action it takes to actually do it.  The life law is absolutely right.  We reap what we sow, and if we chose not to sow, then we will not have anything to reap.  For me this was sort of a kick in the butt.  It made me think about things that I have said that I want to do, but have never actually take the necessary steps to get them done.   I am going to start to take action.  What about you?

What was she thinking???

I was watching the Today Show this morning and heard about a woman in Vancouver, WA who intentionally burned her face with acid and then blamed it on someone else.  While listening to this story unfolded on the TV, I'm sitting there perplexed at the thought of someone not only inflicting that kind of pain on themselves, but also then trying to pass the blame onto someone else.  It is crazy to me to think that someone would do that.  She reportedly wiped drain cleaner on her face several times and then reported that someone had thrown acid at her.  She kept the lie going as the community rallied around her and donated money toward her medical bills.  The town collected around $30,000 on her behalf.  I have to wonder if she did this all just to get money.  I think there are a lot of generous people out there and if they hear stories like this then they are going to be less likely to give to other causes that they hear of in fear of being ripped off.  This women in Washington obviously has some mental/emotional issues that she is struggling with.  It makes me angry when I hear stories like this.  What do you think?

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/39284575#39284575

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

September 15, 2010.  I wake up at 6:45AM just like any other day, but today is different.  Today, I'm have the Lap-Band surgery.  I wake my son up and get him ready for school.  Out the door he goes for another exciting day of second grade.  As the bus leaves I am filled with anticipation.  My surgery is at 1:15PM at Barnes Hospital. 
It's been a long journey to this point.  My weight has always been an issue in my life.  I have constantly struggled with losing weight and keeping it off.  I've tried every diet under the sun:  Atkins, Weight Watchers, Metabolife, low calorie - you name it I've tried it.  I would do pretty good with the fad diets, until I got hungry and tired of eating the same things over and over.  Then little by little, I would gain the weight back.  I had just come to the realization that this was how my life was going to be.  I basically had given up.  I would eat sensibly and exercise when I could, but I wouldn't loose any weight.  Then I was introduced to the Lap-Band procedure.  At first I didn't want any part of it.  I thought it would be taking the "easy" way out and I was too good to have to have surgery to lose weight.  I did my research on the topic.  I met with surgeons, dietitians, physical therapists, and behaviorist.  I realized that this surgery was not in any way an "easy" way out and that it can produce some pretty miraculous results.  I still wasn't 100% on board.  Then my mom had the surgery done.  I watched her as she started on the journey to weight loss.  I watched for a year and her results were amazing.  Watching my mom go through this sealed the deal for me.  I decided this was something I wanted to do and that is was something that would change my life forever.  I am ready for the first day of the rest of my life, my healthier, thinner life.
 

Fido Saves the World

I watched a show on PBS the other night called Dogs That Change the World.  It was very interesting.  I have always been a dog lover, but I've never really stopped to thing about what amazing creatures they are.  People have used dogs as service dogs for many years to be the eyes for a blind man or feet for a physically disabled woman.  Did you know that dogs can also help people who are diabetic sense when their blood sugar is low?  Dogs have a very keen sense of smell, because of this some dogs are able to detect the slightest differences in a person's body chemistry.  Scientists are also beginning to study if dogs can actually smell cancer.  Think of the possibilities there could be if dogs could smell when someone has cancer!  Could this lead to earlier detection of certain cancers?  I've always heard of dogs and other animals having a "6th" sense to knowing when something is going to happen, such as an earthquake or other natural disaster.  Can they really sense whether someone has cancer, low blood sugar, or seizures?  I have a Boston Terrier named Bosco.  I don't know if he could "sniff our sickness", but he definitely know when something is not quit right.  he can tell when I'm upset or when one of the boys is sick.  I hope that scientists are able to train dogs to sniff out when someone is sick and it leads to less people dying of cancers and other illnesses.

www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/dogs-that-changed-the-world/medical-dogs/1277/

Family TV???

I was flipping through the channels on the TV today only to realize that there wasn't anything on, at least not anything fit for my family to watch.  I find it harder and harder to find a show that the whole family can watch without having to sensor it for our children.  Even the so-called family channels have questionable content in their shows.  What I don't understand is why?  Is out society so jaded that we only like violent, sexual, foul programs?  I don't think so.  What happened to TGIF?  Family Matters, Full House, The Cosby Show?  I know that those shows were not necessarily "reality based", but they were entertaining and everyone could watch them.  Many of you reading this may think that I'm old fashioned and that's OK.  I just feel that so many of out kids are exposed to violence, crude behavior, and sexuality in their daily lives and that maybe they don't need to see it on TV too.  The old saying "garbage in, garbage out" rings true.  No, I don't think that if a child plays war video games and watches violent TV shows that he's going to go to school with a gun and shoot people.  However, I do believe that if that child is constantly exposed to those things over and over that his feelings and ideas of what reality is or can be becomes morally skewed.  I also feel that watching shows with  questionable content forces children to take on adult roles, attitudes, and views much earlier than necessary.  Our children grow up too fast as it is, why speed up the process?  I don't know what your solution would be, but, in my house we just chose to turn off the TV all together.  What will you choose?  Just food for thought.