Melissa's Idea Garden

Please note that this is a sticky post and will be at the top of my page until September 1st. Scroll down a bit for more recent entries.

Laane at Laane on the World is hosting a wonderful August Give A Way contest! Be sure to check out her contest and how you can enter! And the neat thing is is that to enter her contest you have to have a contest of your own...which of course means there are multiple contests to check out! Great fun! For clarification, the first link gives you the rules to entering, the contest link takes you to where Laane is giving away earrings and a pendant! Good luck!

I am offering three prizes to three winners! I would love for you to enter my contest for a chance to win. And if you have a prize preference, be sure to share that in your comment. I will have my drawing on August 31st and announce the winner on September 1st.

Now to the prizes:

#1 My Komodo Dragon Ebook. This is a PDF file of an interactive book. There is all kinds of information and photos and Internet links regarding the Komodo Dragon.

#2 My CD of over 460 recipes. Some were handed down through my family, some were ones I found.

#3 A biography on Mother Teresa. Used, but very interesting!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

The Rare Chinese Mountain Cat, one of the most beautiful and rare of the small cats, was captured on film in its natural habitat by a heat seeking camera. Most of the contact with this animal by scientists has been to observe them in zoos or to examine their pelts which are sold to tourists. I am amazed that the cat didn't freak out when a flash of light filled the night!

For more information visit National Geographic.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A rare meteor shower is expected to peak in the around 4:30 AM on September 1st, west coast time. So for those of you living in the Western US, set your alarms and go outside for a view that won't be repeated for another 50 years! Scientists aren't sure whether the view will be specatacular (100 meteors an hour) or a flop,but observatories are going to be busy captureing whatever data they can.

The shower should be easily visible to the naked eye, telescopes are not necessary. The Aurigid shower results from the debris of a comet tail. This comet only circles the sun once every 2000 years. For more information, visit National Geographic!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is a contest for 5th graders. If you go to the Arbor Foundation website and click on contact us, you should be able to get more information. We acutally checked into this last year and today we received notifcation in the mail about the contest along with a free booklet with some great learning activities in it. Each state has different deadlines so contact them ASAP if you have an interested 5th grader!

Good luck!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We just finished up the section in Story of the World that deals with Ancient China. We really like Story of the World because it shares the information in small snippets and gives lots of great supporting books and crafts and it includes mapworks. I am even learning along with the kids! And I have always loved history.

We don't always do the crafts. It depends if it is something I think the kids will get a kick out of and will further their understanding of something. Yesterday they got to do their own pictograms. So we wanted to share using pictures:) (Seemed appropriate).

Katrina: The large square is a house. On the 'floor' is a cat and her kittens. On the sofa are more cats.... To the left of the house is a person, with a big right foot, but Katrina says the big foot was an accident. ( I thought it was cats watching TV, so I was close, but that was after my guess of a cow and dog in a field!).

Jack: He wanted to try and make a sentence. It goes something like: A flood came because of a lot of rain. The people ran and climbed a big hill, then the sun and a rainbow appeared. Below that you see sun and moon. Okey...dokey then...now we know why archaeologists have a hard time interpreting pictures of the past! (I figured out the rain, rainbow and people running part, so I kind of had the gist of this one).

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out this African Photos Website for fantastic photos from the Dark Continent!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:20 AM | Permalink

An Island Review has a product review of Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus Silver Edition Graphic Scientific Calculator! It is the newest generation of graphing calculator and according to her it is awesome! And what's even mnore awesome is you have a chance to win this for your child!

Go check it out! And good luck!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:26 AM | Permalink

New Undersea Cable will link the Ocean to the Internet. The first step of NEPTUNE, a joint U.S.-Canadian effort to create the world's first regional cabled ocean observatory, was made last week when the French ship Ile de Sein laid down submarine fiber-optic cables in the Pacific Ocean. This will enable scientists to gather information never before gatherable!

Some young spotted salamanders risk their lives by foraging most actively where the risk of predation is highest, a new study says. By living dangerously during their first weeks of life, the spotted salamanders can grow more quickly and thus become too big for predators to eat, the study concludes. Photo and article courtesy of National Geographic.

Australian jellyfish have been found as far north as South Carolina this year. There was a previous invasion in 2000 that was mostly centered in the Gulf of Mexico, but now there are fewer in number, but the population is more spread out. Scientist have several speculations...the babies come over attached to ships, they are drifting this way on ocean currents, they are taking advantage of the food supply. Of course there is concern how this will impact native ocean life.

Jupiter has been theorized as a protector of the planet Earth. It's gravity has been thought to be responsible for throwing invading comets out of the system so they don't hit Earth. Well, Jupiter does that, but most of the asteroids that are a danger to Earth lie in the asteroid belt . If Jupiter wasn't in existence or was smaller, those asteroids probably would have formed into a planet and then we wouldn't be bothered with them. \

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Judy at Welcome to My World of Dreams is having a pre-Grand Opening contest in honor of a review blog that is devoted to short and long romantic fiction! The new site is titled The Long and Short of It

Go to Judy's main site for the directions of how to join! Come on what have you got to lose? A few minutes of your time? What have you got to gain? Access to a site of great reviews (helps to sort out the many books that are out there) and a chance to win some books for bath time reading! So don't wait, go enter today! Good luck:)

BTW, this is a sticky post, please scroll down to read my recent posts. For everyday I put this contest at the top of my blog, I get another entry into the contest:)

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Inspired by the weekly contests at The Average Girl's Guide to Being A Princess, I have decided to begin a regular post entitled Monday's Act of Random Kindness. In it I will tell whatever random acts of kindness I manage to do during the week. I am hoping this will help me to be more aware of opportunities that I have to be kind to others. I also thought it would be a great way to start my week, and hopefully yours!

I would love to hear about your Random Acts of Kindess. Feel free to share in the comments below or if you post about them, leave a link and I'll come visit!

My Random Acts of Kindness:

1. A few months ago I gave a friend who has two dogs, leftover treats from when Maggie lived with us. We had bones, biscuits, and other items and they were all stored in large tupperware containers that I had picked up at flea markets and yardsales just for that purpose. Well, when we spoke last week, she told me how many uses she had found for the two containers since she had emptied them of the treats. So I told her she could keep them. She didnt' want to at first, but I convinced her.

2. I sell items on Ebay. I have not been in the habit of waiting until checks clear before I ship items and in 5 years, I haven't gotten burned yet. A month ago a lady purchased a dragon costume from me. Right away she emailed and said the check was in the mail. Two weeks passed and I hadn't recieved the check (I allowed extra time as she was on the other side of the country). I contacted her via Ebay and after a day or so, I heard back that there had been illness in her family and she was sorry for the delay. No biggie I assured her and within a week I had the money. I shipped the costume right away. About 5 days after I cashed the check, it came back to me from my bank that it has bounced and they were adding a 5.00 fee. I emailed via Ebay again and told her I understood how these things could happen and would she please contact me so we could work out another way for her to get the funds to me. Then I heard from her sister. The purchaser was in the hospital and would square all of this away as soon as she could. I thought about it a bit. I realize that it is possible this is all a scam, but when I read her feedback, I saw that it was good until a couple of weeks ago when she had failed to get payments to a couple of people for purchase she made the same time as mine. Regardless of whether this woman is truly ill (which I believe she is) or she has fallen on hard time suddenly for a different reason, it was obvious that something was going on. So I emailed the sister back and told her to accept the costume as a gift from me. I suggested she email the other two sellers that had not been paid and explain what was going on to them. I also emailed the other two sellers (newer to Ebay than I) and suggested that if they heard from the buyer, they might want to consider removing their negative feedback due to extrenuating circumstances. I am not rolling in money, in fact my husband is out of work right now, but if this woman is truly ill, then she has enough on her mind right now.

So those are my two out of the ordinary acts of kindness for the week. I also let people out ahead of me in traffic and called cashier's by their name when checking out. You can read my first post about other acts of kindness if you missed it last week.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:04 AM | Permalink

The Multi-tasking Moms Blog is having a recipe round-up contest. They are looking for recipes that take 30 minutes or less to prepare. So I am sharing a recipe from my Recipe CD (which is available for sale) in the hopes of winning the cute apron that is being given as a prize. This recipe was passed down from my great grandmother!

Potato Burgers
Zola Munch Powell Youngblood, my maternal great grandmother

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded raw potatoes
1 pound ground beef
2 tbsp finely chopped onions
½ tsp pepper and salt

Directions:

Mix ingredients. Shape into patties. Put 2 tbsp shortening in skillet, use medium heat until brown. Turn and brown until done (about 12-15 minutes). Remove to platter. Add 2 tbsp flour, milk and water stirring until smooth. Serve with burgers. Good with salad.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

As we move into this ever increasingly tiny world we have a supervillian to be on a look out for!

It can be stronger than the truth, faster than the send button on your keyboard, and it is able to leap from continent to continent in a single bound. It's Super Hoaxes!

Now hopefully you have learned over the years that Bill Gates isn't going to send you millions of dollars for forwarding emails, that not every child's photo that is in your inbox is really a child in need, that all of those scary stories about spiders under toilets and other insidious things are not true and that there are a lot of 'rest of the stories' that Paul Harvey didn't share with the world. What may come as a surprise to you (it did to me) is that people are now quoting books inaccurately.

Let me share with you what I mean.

You may know that The Reagan Diaries were published in May of this year. What I know you don't know is I have a dear homeschooling friend who sits on the other side of the political fence from me and sometimes we share information in the hopes of enlightening or poking at the other. Two days ago, she sent me an email with the following quote which was stated as having come from the Reagan Diaries:

"May 17, 1986. A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne'er-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Maybe I'll call Kinsley over at The New Republic and see if they'll hire him as a contributing editor or something. That looks like easy work."

She said she had read about it on a liberal website that she visits and it had improved her opinion of Ronald Reagan greatly! She also said it gave her a chuckle.

I read it and thought to myself, well, Bush was a bit of a screw up in his earlier years, so I suppose it is possible, but my dh said the wording just didn't sound like Reagan. So he started searching. He went to Amazon and believe it or not, one of the reviews has that quote in it! He looked around and found that an article was up on Digg about it! But what he couldn't figure out was why in three months since the release of this book, this hadn't been in the news (Fox, CNN, Drudge...no where). Well, finally he found the answer at the Museum of Hoaxes I don't want to spoil the exact location of where this quote came from, but you should check it out.

I am upset however, that it was misrepresented and people everywhere have read it and felt like it was the truth. And it makes me worry what other untruths are floating around out there. We tend to believe what we see, but we have to change our mindset and be more inquisitive, more the doubting Thomas so we don't end up with egg on our face!

I kindly emailed my friend the hoax link and she responded with 'well, even I get got sometimes.' And that happens to all of us, but let's try to be more discerning and when you find out about a hoax, let others know! We can spread the word and stop the insanity!

BTW, just in case you have never tried ascertaining the truth of a matter, check out Snopes!

Be a thoughtful consumer of words!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday I woke up to found I had sold a copy of my Komodo Dragon book! I would like to say it is an everyday occurence, but though I have given many away, have received rave reviews, and I am only asking 10.00 for the eBook, I have only sold 2 copies of it. One was a year ago to a friend who runs a cottage school. I apprecaited her purchase, but she was a friend...and this week I sold a copy to a complete stranger! Thanks, Holly!

At any rate, we aren't strangers anymore and have been corresponding. She is an engineer who is working on making a living from home. She introduced me to a site called Suite 101. In particular she has an entry there on nuclear energy that explains it very well and clearly.

I thought I would share this site with my readers for two reasons: one, there is lots of great information that can be useful to homeschoolers and it appears to be free!. And there are job opportunities. They are hiring freelance writers of non-fiction articles! And you can get paid! You should check it out and see if this would be a source of income for you! Good luck!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Wow! Wasn't Tiany's Open House wonderful! I got to visit so many awesome blogs! And I got to learn so much about how others go on their homeschooling adventure.

We have been having a great summer and started back to school on the 13th. With almost two weeks under our belts, we are doing great!  I had hoped to be further along with my CSS knowledge and getting a business up and running, but there is always just so much to do...

Hope everyone is well and has a great year. Don't forget to come visit me at my new blog where I post pretty regularly.

www.melissaomarkham.com

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Yesterday the kids and I went to see Evan Almighty. I went with some trepidation as I had heard it wasn't that great and then there is the fact that sequels are often less than enjoyable. We had loved the movie Bruce Almighty and the Christian message that it presented. We like Steve Carell and we love animals, so we decided to give it a shot (though I was wondering how there could be a flood when God promised never again).

Well, we loved the movie. Not only did the event of the flood work, but the underlying message of "a random act of kindness" as well as the message to take care of our world made the movie fantastic! We loved the quips, the animals, and the fact that afterward, we talked about how we can do little things that make the world a brigther place. Indeed to change the whole world, we need to start with one little act at a time. And if we all do it, imagine what a great world it would be. Another movie example of this is Pay It Forward. This movie has been the springboard of the Pay It Forward Foundation and The Pay It Forward Movement.

A couple of years ago, i was the recipient of an Act of Random Kindness. My daughter and I were in the restroom and Sam's and she was asking if I was going to get a hotdog too. I told her not today as I only had enough money to get her a hot dog (she loves Sam's hotdogs), but that was okay as I wasn't really hungry. When we went to the sink to wash our hands, a lady stepped up to us. She said she couldn't help but overhear our conversation. She said she prayed daily for God to place people in her path that she could help. Today it was going to be us. She handed me 2.00 and told me to enjoy a hotdog with my daughter. Neither of us will ever forget that.

Now, I am not going to say that I have commited an act of kindness every day since. But I try to do them often. They can be things like

1. letting a person out in front of me in a line of traffic
2. letting a person with two items get ahead of me in line at the store
3. saying thank you to the cashier and calling them by name
4. not honking the horn or gesturing when someone pulls out in front of me (sometimes I have done this unwittingly and I try to give people the benefit of the doubt)
5. surprising someone with a phone call or a card or a visit
6. making a cake for a neighbor just because
7. leaving groceries at someone in need's doorstep
8. send someone an anonymous pair of tickets in the mail
9. smile at your family members
10. set a special table at home (fine dishes even if an ordinary meal)

These are just a few simple things we can do, just imagine what the world would be like if all of us focused more on doing for others instead of what we can get done for ourselves!

I would love to hear your Random Acts of Kindness!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

National Geographic always has soe of the best photographs around! These two guys are so cute (ready to take on the world it looks like!). Be sure to check out other interesting photos of the week!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My daughter has wanted a bunny for years, so this past spring I asked my father to build her a rabbit hutch for her birthday. He is a carpenter by trade and always has items around so it was an easy thing for him to do. When the hutch arrived (complete with stuffed bunny rabbit) she was thrilled and we couldn't wait to get an inhabitant for the hutch.

Then reality struck! First we went to a pet store that was asking $80.00 per rabbit! YIKES! I finally learned that a local farmer's market had better deals and we purchased two lop-eared bunnies for a total of $20.00. Much more reasonable. We purchased two instead of one because we intended to keep them outside and bunnies are social and we had heard pining stories from people who had purchased one bunny.

Now the expenses have just begun...bunnies can pack away the food! When they are young, you are supposed to provide unlimited timothy grass and pellets for them (until they reach 12 weeks). Then at twelve weeks you can add vegetables. Well, the bags of grass are $2.50 a bag at Walmart and the food was about 5.00 a bag and they went through one of each a week! Then at twelve weeks we added fresh veggies. According to information we printed out, we are to give them at least three kinds of veggies a day. We are to continue offering pellets and a variety of hay and straw each day. We are to decrease pellets to 1/2 cup per 6 pounds of body weight. And they are to get a minimum of two cups chopped veggies per 6 pounds of body weight...these guys are eating better than I am! And then there is the bedding that has to be replaced every couple of days...we are using cedar bedding to help keep down bugs...

So, if you have had rabbits in the past and have fed them without feeling like you are going broke, please let me know how you did it!

The rabbits are cute, but it is costing us more to care for them than it is our fish, hamsters, and cats combined!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today we read a bio of Emily Dickinson and some of her poetry. She had a wonderful way with images, but we didn't enjoy her poems as much as Sandburg's. She wrote over 1700 poems, but only 6 were published during her lifetime. None of the ones in this book were titled. There were a couple that I enjoyed:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

**********************************

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

*********************

(This one reminded me of my daughter)

The bee is not afraid of me,
I know the butterfly,
The pretty people in the woods
Recieve me cordially.

The brooks laugh louder when I come,
The breezes madder play.
Wherefore, mine eyes, thy silver mists?
Wherefore, O summer's day?

*******************
(This was my favorite because I love Thunderstorms!)

The wind begun to rock the grass
With threatening tunes and low, -
He flung a menace at the earth,
A menace at the sky.

The leaves unhooked themselves from trees
And started all abroad;
The dust did scoop itself like hands
And throw away the road.

The wagons quickened on the streets,
The thunder hurried slow;
The lightning showed a yellow beak,
And then a livid claw.

The birds put up the bars to nests,
The cattle fled to barns;
There came one drop of giant rain,
And then, as if the hands

That held the dams had parted hold,
The waters wrecked the sky,
But overlooked my father's house,
Just quartering a tree.

*********************

One thing that struck me overall, was I often liked the beginning verse or verses, but the last one often didn't seem to fit (to me).

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:48 PM | Permalink

It was with great interest that I read an article over at National Geographic about the proposal to build a lunar ark (on the moon), in the event of an ELE (Extinction Level Event). Ever since I saw the movie Deep Impact, I have wondered about how we can protect our world from these events that we really have little control over. (as an aside, there are some shooting/location flaws with Deep Impact, but it still is a great movie!)

In Deep Impact, they build an ark deep under the mountains and have a national lottery to decide who gets to go there. Since there are only 1 million spots in the U.S.A.'s ark and for the sake of getting the best, they choose scientists, artists, etc and then they decide anyone over 45 is automatically disqualified...it was very emotional, but I digress.

I think we should always be working on planning how to save what we have here and the Lunar Ark sounds like a great idea! I also hope the powers that be are working on ways to move killer meteors away from our planet and that we see it coming in time to actually do something about it.

What disturbs me is how little progress we are making in our endeavors to get into space. I applaud private companies that are now taking strides to do this themselves. I know they are motivated by money, but often great strides forward appear out of our Capitalist Society. We have to be willing to take risks in order to move forward and there are plenty of people willing to take the risks. We have become afraid in many ways in our country. We place human lives at a great value (and don't get me wrong, that is a good thing), but we can't let our fear tame us or worse diminish us.

America is great because our founders risked everything and in the years that followed, these risk takers continued to lead the way in our country. I was horrified and saddened by first the Challenger explosion (I was in college and remember clearly the day I saw this event live on tv) and then by the Columbia Explosion. I believe that the last thing any of those astronauts would want is for exploration into Space to stop! That makes their sacrifices pointless. The space program has a history of disasters and deaths to mix in with its successes and new knowledge we have obtained. We need to move forward.

The Lunar Ark is a great idea, but we need to be working on our transportation into space, our exploration of space. In recent years, astronomers believe they have found more and more evidence of other planets that may resemble our own. We need to find them, and particularly if they are uninhabited, make plans to move ourselves there if need be. Like in the movie Mission to Mars, we need to be prepared to abandon ship if the need arises. So it is not just a place to go that we need to be working on, but a way to get there.

I grew up on science fiction. My first favorite television show was Star Trek. I have seen ideas introduced on that show in the 60's that have come to fruition. Dreamers dream the dreams of our future, it is up to the scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs to turn those dreams into reality.

So let's stop letting our fear get in the way of our exploration and of a better tomorrow!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:36 AM | Permalink

From the Discovery Channel:

Mexican archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar have detected underground chambers they believe contain the remains of Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs when Columbus landed in the New World. It would be the first tomb of an Aztec ruler ever found.

The find could provide an extraordinary window into Aztec civilization at its apogee. Ahuizotl (ah-WEE-zoh-tuhl), an empire-builder who extended the Aztecs' reach as far as Guatemala, was the last emperor to complete his rule before the Spanish Conquest.

This guy sounds positively fascinating and what insight this will give us into the Aztec civilization! A great find for archaeologists!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was reading over at More Little Wilsons Journal and saw this neat idea for a post. Actually, it started out as a tag, but while tagging is fun, I don't like putting people on the spot. So if you think this is a neat idea and you want to add it to your blog...feel free to do so. I would love it if you would tell me so I could come and read about your special day in history. Okay, here is what you do!

Go to Wikipedia and type in the day and month of your birth, excluding the year, and hit search. Then you are to list three events, two births, and one holiday that occurred on your birthday.

Here is mine:

I was born July 31st, 1966.

Three Events: (even though there are more)

1703 - Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.

1777 - The United States Congress passes a resolution that the services of Marquis de Lafayette "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States."

1971 - Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.

Births

1932 - Ted Cassidy, American actor (d. 1979)

1965 - J. K. Rowling, British writer

(And of course Harry Potter...I get to share a birthday with the most well known literary character in history...how cool is that!)

Holidays

Hari Pahlawan - Malaysian warrior's day.

My birthday!

There are a lot of interesting things that happened on July 31st through the centuries. I saw a lot of violence that occured that day...perhaps because of Leo, the astrological sign of the day. That Lion can cause all kinds of trouble. If you are interested and want to read more about what happened on my special day, you can check it out on Wikipedia.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:00 AM | Permalink

We are starting off our year by reading poems by 6 different poets. So far we have read the words of William Carlos Williams (none of us liked those that much) and Walt Whitman (I enjoyed and now I want to see Dead Poet's Society again). Today we read a book of Carl Sandburg's poetry. We like these best so far. First I will share a short poem that was one of his most famous. So few words...so full of imagery! The second poem is one anyone who loves or hates arithmetic will enjoy.

I hope these brighten your day!

Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head.
Arithmetic tells you how many you lose or win if you know how
many you had before you lost or won.
Arithmetic is seven eleven all good children go to heaven -- or five six bundle of sticks.
Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze fro your head to your hand to
your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.
Arithmetic is where the answer is right and everything is nice
and you can look out of the window and see the blue sky -- or the answer is
wrong and you have to start all over and try again and see how it comes out this time.
If you take a number and double it and double it again and then
double it a few more times, the number gets bigger and bigger and goes
higher and higher and only arithmetic can tell you what the number is when
you decide to quit doubling.
Arithmetic is where you have to multiply - and you carry the
multiplication table in your head and hope you won't lose it.
If you have two animal crackers, one good and one bad, and you
eat one and a striped zebra with streaks all over him easts the other, how
many animal crackers will you have if somebody offers you
five six seven and you say No no no and you say Nay nay nay and you say
Nix nix nix?
If you ask your other for one fried egg for breakfast and she
gives you two fried eggs and you eat both of them, who is better in
arithmetic, you or your mother?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:49 AM | Permalink

Last year only 34 Giant Pandas were born all year. MSNBC is reporting that on Monday, 4 baby Giant Pandas were born. Look how tiny and naked the little baby is! And how cute they can be (but remember, they are still dangerous! Photos are also courtesy of MSNBC.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:53 AM | Permalink

We are going to visit friends today for fun in the pool and then dinner. I made Black Bean and Corn Ranch Salad and Cherries and Chocolate Fudge. Both have turned out excellently even though I had to make a substitution for the fudge. It called for candied cherries, but I couldn't find any, so I used dried cherries (like raisins). Not only is the fudge awesome, it was sooooooo easy! These and other recipes can be found on my Recipe CD (see the link at the top right of my blog. For $10.00 you receive a CD in a sleeve with over 460 recipes on it. The $10.00 includes shipping charges. That is mere pennies per recipe! For a sample of the recipes included, be sure to check out my Recipes category on my blog.

Cherries and Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients:

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 cups (12 oz) Hershey’s Semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup coarsely chopped almonds
½ cup chopped candied cherries (can also use dried cherries –like raisins)
1 tsp almond extract

Directions:

1. Line square pan, 8 x 8 x 2 inches, with foil.
2. In medium micro-proof bowl combine sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips
3. Microwave on high 1 ½ to 2 minutes or until chips are melted and mixture is smooth when stirred. Stir in chopped almonds, cherries and almond extract
4. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
5. Cover, chill until firm.
6. Store covered in fridge.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:30 AM | Permalink

We had a fantastic first day of school yesterday. I was up at 6. Jack woke up about 7 and Katrina got up about 8:00 with some prompting.

Before school started, I put away dishes, fed the cats, helped Katrina with feeding the rabbits, did some laundry, caught up on my emails and RSS feeds, played Phase 10 with Jack, took a shower, had breakfast and had devotions.

By 11:30, we were done with our school for today (we finished a bit early as our science curriculum hasn't arrived yet. I got some Ebay work done and laundry folded while the kids worked and when I wasn't working with them. I also made up my shopping lists for the day.

We had lunch and left around 12:30. We had a bunch of errands to run (including recycling, going by the post office, and buying household items). We also went to see Nancy Drew which Katrina and I really enjoyed. Jack said it wasn't as good as he thought it would be...maybe because it was girl centered? We got home a bit after 6 and put away the groceries. I made Black Bean and Corn Ranch salad and Cherries and Chocolate fudge that we will be taking with us to dinner with friends this evening. I got the dishes done, finished my Ebay work and my VaBay work, talked with y mom and helped the kids some with a project they started yesterday on their own.

They are both writing plays. Katrina's is about some woodland friends and Jack's is about pirates. They will be in each other's plays. I am in charge of typing up their words for ease of reading (Jack's writing is terrible and Katrina's spelling is...phonetic!). I also have to help with costumes. Daniel is in charge of providing music. They are going to present their plays next Thursday when their grandparents are here (and other family members). It should be fun!

Well, off to another great day:) Hope yours will be awesome as well!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have been hiding...lurking about in blog world...evading, blocking, feinting to the left, feinting to the right...but today, I moved a second too late and Laura at Laura's Williams Musings tagged me! And a few days later Bobbie at Encouragement Along the Way tagged me with the same tag...I am starting to make a name for myself out there;) Since Bobbie wants to get to know me better, I will add 8 more random things about myself!

So now I have to share 8 random things about myself!!!!

1. I was born in Fort Gordon, Georgia in 1966 while my dad was stationed in the Army there.

2. I have never ever smoked a cigarette, not even a little bit. I just wasn't interested and didn't like the way my grandmother smelled.

3. I love late nights and early mornings when the house is quiet.

4. I love thunderstorms and the sound of rain falling on a tin roof.

5. I worked for 6 years in the field of Early Infant Intervention before becoming a SAHM.

6. I love the mountains and when I spend time there, I feel replenished.

7. I love to read a good scary book or watch a good scary ovie. Not the gory stuff, but stuff that makes me think and makes me wonder what is coming around the next corner.

8. I love snow. I love to watch it fall, I love to walk in it. I wish we had more of it where we live. Last year, we spent five days in a cabin in West Virginia. It was the best vacation I have had in a while.

9. I graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1984.

10. I enjoy movies that make me feel Whether it is a feeling of patriotism, sadness, happiness, whatever, I like movies that move me!

11. I like to play board games, do jigsaw puzzles and play video games (I love to play Wii with the kids when I have time).

12. I am learning HTML and CSS so I can work at designing websites.

13. I am goal oriented. I decide I want to accomplish something and stick to it until it is done (hence the reason that Bobbie kept seeing my name on every Homeschool Open House blog). I was determined to visit them all (though there were a couple of links that didn't work for me).

14. I am an only child as is my mother. My father is one of seven. My husband is adopted.

15. I have watched Pirates of the Caribbean a kazllion times! It is a favorite movie in our house for the children and me.

16. I am happiest when I am spending fun time with my family.

Now I am supposed to go tag some friends. But it is late and I am tired and I am going to take the easy way out...if you are reading this and feel inclined to share 8 random things about yourself, then please do so and let me know so I can come and learn about you! Sorry, I would tag actual bloggers, but I have spent all my extra time this week reading Tiany's Homeschool Open House, and I have ran out of time for blogging!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I am writing this blog entry in response to a contest at Multi-Tasking Moms blog. I am supposed to share a favorite family recipe, a cleaner I love, or examples of my multi-tasking.

I am a big multi-tasker. Here are some examples:

1. Doing multiplcation or other math facts with the kids in the car (or spelling words or making up stories). We also listen to audio books in the car.

2. When I am making breakfast in the morning, I am also putting away the clean dishes from the night before that I left out to air dry after washing them. Other things I do while cooking i the kitchen are feed the cats, prepare food for the rabbits, or work on the wash (laundry room is right next to the kitchen.)

3. I rarely watch tv without doing something else: crocheting, needlepoint, blogging, answering email, playing a game on my Nintendo DS, doing Ebay work. I just about can't stand just sitting and watching tv.

4. When I am cleaning or doing dishes, I listen to books on my iPod.

And now, just for fun a favorite recipe:

Pizza By the Yard

Ingredients:

1 unsliced loaf of French bread
1 6 oz can tomato paste
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped onion
½ tsp oregano
¾ tsp salt
Dash pepper
1 lb ground beef
2 tomatoes sliced
1 green pepper cut into rings (optional)
4 oz grated sharp cheese
4 slices mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cut loaf in half. Spread with beef mixture. Bake at 400 degrees 20 to 25 minutes. Then remove from oven, add tomatoes, peppers and cheese. Return to oven and bake until cheese melts.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 2:17 PM | Permalink

Do you have an embarrassing bathroom story you want to share? Well go check out the Gotta Go Gotta Go Gotta Go Right Now Contest for a chance to win an awesome gift bag of toiletries! Regardless of whether or not you win, you will sympathize with the others and get a few laughs!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday, the homeschool nature group that we belong to met at my father's place. He is blessed with 51 acres of mountain land that sits right against National Forest in Bedford County. Going there is like enjoyig a piece of heaven on earth (except for the gnats and no seeums...I am sure they won't be flying around in heaven). There was a good group yesterday: 7 moms and 15 children. Part of the purpose of going to my dad's was to peruse his large arrowhead collection and then to look in the tilled up ground to see if we could find any of our own. But it was hot and since arrowheads didn't pop up right away, the interest quickly waned and the kids headed to the creek. We spent the better part of four hours there. The moms talked and helped out when necessary.

The children found crawdads (one was a mom and babies came pouring off of her when the kids picked her up). They found salamanders and frogs. They enjoyed splashing one another and sliding down a water fall slide. I wish all children everywhere could have afternoons like that...playing, exploring and enjoying this beautiful world God has provided us with.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mon-Fri morning

6 am-8:30 - get up, devotions, shower, exercise, email, eat

Monday-Thursday morning

8:45-9 - wake up exercises with kids
9-9:30 History (SOTW)
9:30-10 Science (4-H projects)
10-10:30 Writing/Spelling (Natural Speller)
10:30-11:15 Grammar (first we have five poets we are going to read, then we are going to do a unit study on Pirates of the Caribbean, then we are going to do Simply Grammar)
11:15-12 Math (Silver Burdett grade 2 for Katrina and Saxon 7/6 for Jack)

12-1 lunch

Monday-Thursday Afternoons

Not scheduled, but piano, chores, errands, unfinished morning work, reading, playing

Friday

Spelling Test (every week)
Blue Ridge Nature Group (every other week, we get out and identify and net dip and such)
Story Starters (every other week)
Educational Board Games (every other week)

So, there it is. After reading over 200 entries in the homeschool open house at Tiany's, I decided it was time to make up our schedule. We are all very excited (Katrina wants to start tomorrow). I am trying to figure out where to start with Jack's spelling. We have never done spelling before, so I am starting with third grade words to see if there are any he has missed. So far out of a couple hundred words he has missed 5. Once we figure out where his spelling is, then we will start from there.

This year is going to be so much fun!!!!!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I have been watching Star Trek since I was about 4 or 5 years old. I was born in 1966. I have watched pretty much every show (except Enterprise and that was due to bad tv reception). I have laughed, cried, loved and learned with these characters. I am amazed at how many things that Gene Rodenberry had a vision of have come to pass and can only hope that more will. Here is an excellent video from You Tube. If you like Star Trek you will love this!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)

This evening the children and I watched Summer of the Monkeys. We borrowed this fantastic movie from Netflix. If you haven't checked out Netflix I highly recommend it. Just this past month, they reduced my monthly fee by 2.00 a month, but I still get the same great service. I can borrow up to 3 movies at a time. They come in my mailbox. I send them back in nifty prepaid envelopes after we have watched them. There aren't any time limits. And the thing I like best is it is a great way for me to access family movies and documentaries that we would otherwise not be able to see. But enough of that.

Tonight we watched Summer of the Monkeys, a 1998 movie that is rated G and has Wilford Brimley in it. Summer of the Monkeys the movie, is based on a book by Wilson Rawls. This movie is set in the 1800's on the prairies of Canada. The circus train has a wreck and four monkeys run away when their trainer is hurt. Meanwhile a young boy is turning into a man and trying to find a way to come up with $75.00 to purchase a horse. This story is a cross between Little House on the Prarie: Christmas at Plum Creek and Where the Red Fern Grows. (Of course, Wilson Rawls is the writer of Where the Red Fern Grows, so perhaps that explains part of the similarity. In my research, I have come across reference that the book is much, much better than the movie. (Summer of the Monkeys)

In the course of this tale, we watch a young lad grow to be a man and we learn how perseverance can pay off. We also are reminded that we can only hold our children so tightly, they must spread their wings and fly. This was a great story and full of wonderful messages. I highly recommend it!