Taking Control

Recently I felt like my life is no longer mine to control. I don't if you have ever experienced this feeling but, I have, often, in the last few years.  Several years ago I discovered I could not walk in to the ocean and maintain balance. then I discovered I could no longer walk on a hill without slipping. Then when I had a prescription problem and a different medical issue again I felt helpless.
So What could I  do to take control? I asked myself.
To begin with I called doctors and told them of the problems. They were busy but kind and helped to figure out one of them. Then I began to look at the things I need to do to regain better health. I planned to make some changes in some of the areas of my life.
New year resolutions
1. Eat more fruit and vegetables.
2. Eat less bread, rice and potatoes.
3. Exercise every day at least 20 minutes, an hour if possible.
4. Have a quiet time daily. God is waiting for me to come to chat with  him and he never says, I am too tired or no you can't come over. He also answers my texts, phone calls and e-mails
5. Pray for those who need prayer.
6. Learn more about Art history.
7. Be accountable.
8. Save money by not eating out so much.
9. Do more of the things I enjoy!
10. read a book every week and add a Friday book notes if I can think of something to say.
11. Finish that novel I started last year.
That is enough for today.

Books

              This week I read 4 books. None were too intellectual, all were fun and gripping. The first three were the Hunger Games books. The movies were pretty true to the books but the books were more detailed. And you can follow them  more easily. The third book isn't a movie yet and it will be interesting how they write that as  a script and whether or not they remain true to the story line.  May the odds be ever in your favor.



The fourth book was by Lee Childs and it was a thriller with a good ending and for once it wasn't too scary. Now I am reading a fifth one but it is a new week and some friends came by with another.

I also watched the movie Argo and it was scary but good. For my professional interest is watched  a movie called Chalk about teaching. It sort of reminded me of Up the Down Staircase.

So the first two weeks of the year were profitable!

Is it 2014 yet?

Hello world! I have not forgotten to blog.
 I just didn't feel like a writer this fall and August. A lot of things happened though and I have the photos to prove it.


Here are the pictures that I couldn't figure out how to put into the blog.

 Katie got Married on April 6, 2013. It was a wonderful wedding!

On the Fourth of July we waore mustaches.

Jonathan and Lauren got engaged.

 

I made some new Chinese friends.

Nancy got Baptized.

You can see deer in the back yard.

Last Year and the New Year!

Ok So this year has already arrived and I did a lot of stuff but I did not blog!!! I sort of forgot long about August.
Here is the list from last year and soon I will start the list for next year.

1.  Pray more often and more effectively~ This needs to be on 2014. In fact I just bought a book called Becoming a Woman of Prayer
2. Maybe that means buy or keep a prayer journal. +.
3.  Look for the silver lining. Not really measurable.
4. Do a good deed once a week. ( Make a list of them so I have 52.). Well this is a measurable objective but I didn't do it.
5. Decorate the walls in the living room. Started but not finished
6. Redo the computer room and my bedroom. Not done
7. Call my friends don't just text or e-mail. And arrange lunch dates to chat and everything! I did this
8. Call my sisters weekly. Well, I think I probably called Thea about 30 times and maybe Rachel 10. Does this count.
9. Work on managing my finances. Yes!
10. Keep to the budget. Yes! 
11. Crochet 3 baby afghans. Yes
12. Get a head start on Christmas, like buy or write stuff down as I see needs.NO
13. Go to Florida to see Cathy, Bill, Sue and others. No
14. Walk daily even if it is just up or down the hill. NO But I did join the rec center to make me walk more.
15.  Go to California to see my sister and her family~ Yes
16. Go to Paul Jr.'s wedding~ where is that going to be? Yes
17.  Start a going to China savings account to go to China in 2 years. Yes
18.  Read a book a week and report on it every Friday. NO
19.  Go to see Aunt Mearlene in Wilmington, North Carolina. NO
20.  Include more fruit and vegetables in my daily diet. YEs
21. Make a new friend or two. Yes
22. Continue to study Spanish or Chinese. NO this became too hard to teach myself and I was unmotivated.
23. Be accountable. Yes to myself.
24. Work in the Sunday school department at OBF.  Yes
25. Study the Bible and able to answer questions. Yes
26. Sing Karaoke with Katie and friends.
27. Go Katie's wedding and have fun there! Yes
28. Volunteer at the Middle School with Suzette  Yes
29. Go on 4 hikes with Katie and Dustin, one each season. NO
30. Go to Curves at least 3 times a week. Yes when there was a curves and now I go to the rec center when I feel motivated.

Second Year of Retirement

So as I sat at the table this morning I thought of my fellow teachers who are sitting at the boring meetings and getting smart about the school district and record keeping and insurance changes. I am not there and I can go and do what ever I want today. Hooray for retirement!
The question is what do I want to do? I do have couple of errands and I  do want to read a book. I do want to go to the rec center.
 I am working on two afghans. I ran out of a color of yarn. I do want to just watch Smallville. (I wonder why I keep on liking to watch the same episodes over and over?) I have two other movies to watch too.
So as far as the novels: East of Eden I had to stop. It wasn't gripping enough. I am reading The Big Sleep and 1984 simultaneously. Neither one is gripping. I want to do some research on the novel I want to write.
There are dishes and tutoring and laundry and ooh yes packing to go on vacation and to a wedding.
What are you doing today?

To Kill A Mockingbird

Well I finished novel #one. I don't know if I read this book before but I do know that I have only seen the movie in bits and pieces. I remember the actor who played Atticus, Gregory Peck,  and the little girl who played Scout. I could not put it down and longed to stay up late finishing it. That is the kind of novel I want to write. Do you remember reading it? If you read this blog let me know if you read it and if you remember the story line.
Since 1960 when this book was written, I have read many stories about Civil Rights and racial equality. In fact one yer I saw the inequality of the races first hand. But when I was living it, I didn't even recognize it as a problem.  In fact one year much later, one of my students asked me,  "Why do we always have to read about this problem?" Interestingly, this problem wasn't one that he had personally.
 One question I have always wondered, How did the author come up with the title? The answer come when Atticus talks about the Mockingbird.  Now that I have read it I plan to answer comprehension questions and look through teacher guides to come up with the higher level thinking skills and questions that deal with those. So I can really study about characters, view points,  plots, language, etc.
I have noticed this about living in a small town. There is  a townie and student and university and not with the university attitude here in Oxford. This attitude wasn't in Liberty, but there there was an attitude of "Good Ol' Boy". Rather similar to the social classes in the book.

The 50 Greatest Novels Written

In preparation for writing I am also reading great novels and so I am beginning with  To Kill a Mockingbird. After reading the book I plan to look at it from an author's view point and really study all the things that a good novel needs - a point of view a protagonist an antagonist etc. and keep notes hopefully I can become a better writer this way. I also know that I have already read a good portion of these books but I have not studied all of them for a long, long time. In spite of knowing the basic plot I still find this novel gripping and can't wait to meet the Boo and to see how Atticus Finch acts at the court room.
Another book I just finished was called Tadpole by Ruth White. Obviously not my mother but still the author caught my attention. This one shares a few similarities with To Kill a Mockingbird. I will not go into them here, but I plan to keep a note book with thoughts about both of the books. It is not on the List but it did win an award for children's literature.