Life on the Road

Here’s a great one for the LEP-Recon files:

The area of interest being here:

Yes, it’s true… Someone else had already taken it upon themself to correct IKEA’s punctuation.

And just to clarify – while I am annoyed by such silly errors, and point them out with glee, I do not approve of what can only be called vandalism.

Here’s another camera-phone photo from the road. Not a Punctuation Police emergency this time, just a hilarious packaging description:

Check out the white line near the top: NO FAKE CRAP

Something I often say, but not your typical ad slogan.

Maybe I ought to watch that movie “Crazy People” again…

(Well, almost…)

It’s in Homestead, Florida.

Who knew??

This is TOO funny!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otkW4TlgC5w&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Infamous, maybe?

What should one say when one is featured at Awkward Family Photos?

The video quality is a little low, but the lyrics say it all!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7agvKbA6Pls[/youtube]

Dear Employees:

As the CEO of this organization, I have resigned  myself to the fact that Barrack Obama is our President and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way.

To compensate for these increases, our prices would have to increase by about 10%.

But since we cannot increase our prices right now due to the dismal state of the economy, we will have to lay off six of our employees instead.

This has really been bothering me, since I believe we are family here and I didn’t know how to  choose who would have to go. So, this is what I did:

I walked through our parking lot and found six ‘Obama’ bumper stickers on our employees’ cars and I have decided these folks will be the ones to let go.

I can’t think of a more fair way to approach this problem. They voted for change, I gave it to them.

I will see the rest of you at the annual company picnic. 

I can’t claim credit… Igot this as an email with no credit citation. 

It’s sure a good one, though!

I was recently challenged by Kari over at Meanwhile, back at the ranch…  The idea is simply to post the 6th picture of the 6th picture folder on your computer, and explain it.

I had a little trouble deciding which was my 6th Folder, since they are spread out and in several clusters.  But I decided that, most logically counted, it was “Family 2007″.

The 6th Picture was this one (click to see it larger):

That’s Jewel (and Nick) standing on the lake above the dam in Williams, AZ.  It had frozen over (and been snowed on), so we had to go check it out…

Our friends all thought we were slightly crazy when we told them we’d walked all the way across the frozen lake as a family.  And we aren’t even from Michigan or anything!

So there you have it.

And now, of course, I am supposed to “tag” 6 friends to take up the challenge.

Christi

Dawn

Mylinda

Lori

My flu-addled brain can only come up with those four who have personal, free-form enough blogs to participate, but haven’t already done it.  It’s the thought that counts, right?

Too funny not to share…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XGJq8wrw5I[/youtube]

Welcome to the Carnival of Homeschooling! 

I am honored to be hosting the carnival again, and I want to extend my hearfelt thanks to the dozens of bloggers who submitted these incredibly interesting, challenging, and diverse posts for your reading pleasure. 

If you follow the blog, you’ll know we’re an RPG (role-playing game), Renaissance Fair kind of family.  I recently posted about what a cute idea I thought the Chore Wars site was – earning “XP” (Experience Points) for the “adventures” in housework we do every day.

Homeschooling is no different, and deserves the same kind of heroic credit!

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Earn 10 XP for encouraging your child to “think outside the box,” challenge assumptions, and, fundamentally, THINK.   That’s one of the main reasons many of us are on this adventure in the first place, right?

Michael Gold of the MGTutoring Blog asks, The Great Industrialists: Heroes or Villains?

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Teaser to Exercise your Memory and Reasoning Skills posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution.

Cristina presents Pill Bug Pioneers! posted at Home Spun Juggling.

Jena asks Do Schools Kill Creativity? on The Life Without School Community Blog.

Janine writes about actual brain development in Parents with Purpose over at Why Homeschool.  (Must be in the air!  See my post near the end).

Earn 25 XP for reminding your children that they are part of a larger “Party of Adventurers.” They need to learn to pitch in, help out, and just plain get along…

Carol Topp, CPA presents Resolve Conflict: take a PAUSE posted at HomeschoolCPA’s Blog.

Susan Gaissert presents The Idea of Service posted at The Expanding Life.

The Reluctant Homeschooler  contemplates a Mission to Mexico.

25 XP for attending to thine own training, growth and development.

Sue Richardson reminds us to keep an eye on our priorities… Oh, just go read it! My Dining Room Table posted at Homeschooling High School.

Timothy Power issues us a warning about the siren song of Debt for College in A Few Thoughts on College Debt posted at Sometimes I’m Actually Coherent.

Wendy Metzger of A Divine Calling…Musings on Motherhood has a great reminder for us all: Take Time to Enjoy Them.

Margaret reminds us that Homeschooling Moms need to be educated too, at Two Kid Schoolhouse. 

ChristineMM shares about a re-committment to studying world history after a too-long lapse in History Blitz posted at The Thinking Mother.

Becca presents us with 5 Things to Tell Yourself when Angry with the Kids at Inspiration for Mothers . Com.

Rack up an extra 10 XP every time you come up with a practical solution to a real-life challenge…  Another vital reason many of us are questing.

Rose describes her mealtime secrets in Iron Chef, Homeschool Edition, posted at Learning at Home.

Katherine writes about The Longest Week of the Year at No Fighting, No Biting!

Concerning Kids presents Healthy After School Snacks For Kids posted at Concerning Kids.

Living By Learning presents Customize A Web Browser For Home School Use posted at On Living By Learning.

Therese of the Aussie Coffee Shop discusses Our Curriculum for 2009.

And a challenge near and dear to my heart – homeschooling with a home business – is addressed by Pat Fenner in Creating a Vision for Your Homeschool – and Your Home Business on her NetworkFromHome blog.

Tom Zirpoli discusses supervising your children in his Thought for the day on Tom Zirpoli’s Blog.

Earn 1 XP per minute of reading aloud!

Hilary Kay discusses reading to your kids in Read, Read, Read! at Love, Life, and Everything Between.

Nothing to read? Miss Amanda offers On Moi’s 2009 Book List posted at The Daily Planet.

Go on an ADVENTURE within your adventure! Earn 50 XP for each excursion with educational value.

Shannon describes their introduction to the wild world of Geocaching: An Educational Adventure at Song of My Heart.

HappyCampers maps one out for us with Take Me On A Tour: Sixth Floor Museum, Dallas posted at Reese’s View Of The World.

Misty presents Part 1: Our Vacation is a School Trip – Science Classes posted at Homeschool Bytes.

Amy wants to help us all help each other go on adventures!  Check out How Many Homes Do You Have? from Neighborhood Clubhouse.

Pamela describes some great Winter play tactics in After the storm….. at Homeschool AND Stay Sane!.

Earn a bonus 50 XP each time you give them special training for the specific quests they will face, or share the best of your personal knowledge and skills with them…

Dianne M. Buxton presents Some Highly Effective Tips For Ballet Summer Intensives Auditions – And The Nerves posted at Ballet Shoes and Pointe Shoes.

Barbara Frank presents Woodworking with Dad posted at Barbara Frank Online.

Kim at Countdown to College offers us some hope and peace of mind about scholarships, with God Rewards the Work. 

Collect 10 XP each for discovering new resources to assist you on your campaign.

Sarah Scrafford presents 50+ Free Open Courseware Classes for Social Media Mavens posted at Online Best Colleges.com.

Margaret Garcia presents target=”_blank” Top 20 iPhone Apps for Overwhelmed Students posted at Phlebotomy Technician Schools.

The Eclectic Female presents Three Easy Ways To Learn Spanish posted at Lifestyle Blog For Women.

Dolfin presents Friday Finds – Fairytale Feasts posted at Lionden Landing.

Sarah presents SmallWorld’s WordSmithery: Good Words (Assignment 2) posted at SmallWorld.

Kevin presents Homeschool Ideas for Physical Education posted at More4kids Homeschooling.

Beverly Hernandez shares some great resources for Groundhog Day Fun (next Monday!) at Beverly’s Homeschooling Blog (About.com).

Agree or disagree with the goings-on, as a Homeschool Adventurer you need to know what’s going on in the political landscape.  Earn 10 XP every time you check the map.

Dana address the troubling question: Christian homeschoolers have “left the battlefield?” on Principled Discovery.

Summer presents Politics and Homeschooling In Oklahoma posted at Wired For Noise.

Sheri offers a tongue-in-cheek view, in Attention Citizens posted at The Joy of Home.

Catherine muses on Applying the Principle of the Declaration of Independence to Education over at Petticoat Government.

Helen Hegener presents One Perspective on Homeschooling posted at HEM Editor’s Blog.

Mary Nix comments on the news story out of hte UK, in Child Abuse does not = homeschooling posted at The Informed Parent.

And on a lighter note, I literally laughed out loud with Laura’s A Sign Of The Times… posted at Practical Homeschooling.

25 XP shall be awarded for each and every cool hands-on project undertaken – regardless of outcome.

Kris of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers presents Step-by-Step: Making a Paper Mache Earth Model.

Renae presents For the Birds posted at Life Nurturing Education.

Deanna aka Pop Tart presents Why Craft With Kids posted at Things Your Grandmother Knew.

And of course, a good Adventurer never passes up FREE TREASURE!

You can win a free book from Rachel Starr Thomson of Inklings.  Writers age 11 and up can find all the information about it here: Writing Contest – Write a Book Review!

Denise tells of fame and, well, FAME to be won! MathNotations Contest for Middle-High School posted at Let’s Play Math!.

Our entry this week (I can list a regular post even when I’m hosting, right?) is a Brain Rules – Book/DVD Review and Giveaway!

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Thank you for reading…  Please let me know if you find any errors or broken links!

Please take a moment to post a link to the carnival on your blog, as well as adding it to any social bookmarking sites you use (the “Share This” link, below, will make it easy for most of them!) — help spread the word about homeschooling, and the carnival, and send some traffic to all these terrific bloggers who took the time to share their lives with us.

Don’t forget to send in your post for next week’s carnival, as well, hosted at Dewey’s Treehouse!  Just click on over to the easy submision form at Blog Carnival anytime before Monday at 6pm Pacific.

I love this.  I didn’t write it, but I submit it here for your contemplation:

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I’m against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG. Instead, I’m in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a “We Deserve It Dividend.”

To make the math simple, let’s assume there are 200 million bona fide U.S. Citizens 18+. Our population is about 301 million +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200 million might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up. Divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion, which equals $425,000.00 per person. That’s $425,000 to every person 18+ as a “We Deserve It Dividend.”

Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So let’s assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25.5 billion right back to Uncle Sam.

Now every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife have $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 or $595,000.00 in your family?

• Pay off your mortgage? Housing crisis solved.
• Repay college loans? What a great boost to new grads.
• Put away money for college? It’ll actually be there.
• Save in a bank? Create money to legitimately loan to entrepreneurs.
• Buy a new car? Create jobs.
• Invest in the market? Capital drives growth.
• Pay for your parent’s medical insurance? Health care improves.
• Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else.

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

As for AIG – liquidate it. Sell off its parts. Let American General go back to being American General. Sell off the real estate. Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Sure this is a crazy idea that can “never work.” But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party! How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 Billion more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in Washington DC.

And remember, the plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Call your congressional leaders today!