Melissa's Idea Garden

I have rediscovered my love of reading. When I was growing up, I always had a book with me. I read as I brushed my teeth, dried my hair, ate my breakfast, walked to the bus stop, on the way to school and whenever I had a break during the day. My senior year of highschool, I read over 100 books. My favorites at the time were gothic romance, Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul. My 12th grade English teacher, Mrs. Boswell, told me it was fine to read the fun stuff, but to be sure to spend time in the classics as well. I took her advice to heart and developed a love for Hardy, Steinbeck, Dickens and Vonnegut (to name a few). Well, now my challenge to myself is to read nonfiction books as well as fiction.

You can check on my Shelfari account in the sidebar of my blog to see what all I have been reading this year. I read from my Kindle while I exercise and then from the stack of books that I have collected over the last 10 years, but hadn't gotten around to reading. The book I finished today was Reversing Heart Disease. It is a book that my hubby bought a few years ago, but then never read. When my dear friend, Carole, called me to tell me her hubby had had a heart attack, Daniel remembered the book and told her about it. I thought to myself...this is a book I should read, so onto my shelf it went. And I got a copy of Reversing Diabetes by Dr. Whitaker to read on my Kindle. I have a history of Diabetes in my family. I am overweight, sedentary and love to eat sweets. Last August, after my yearly physical, my doctor sent me my blood test results and a prescription for a cholesterol medication.

Continue reading "Reversing Heart Disease by Julian Whitaker, M.D." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:25 PM | Permalink

I love my Dad and have long realized that he is one of the smartest people I know. Over the years, he has come up with many great ideas, some of which have come to pass. For instance, my dad thought of inventing the artifical tree with light bulbs already on the branches long before it ever came to be.

Tonight as we were chatting, he shared with me another great idea and I am going to share it here just in case the power's that be are listening!

My father has worked hard all of his life. When I was growing up, he worked a 9-5 job, then he built houses on the side. Later, he switched to just building houses and even today, with my 64 year old father, often puts in 12 hour or more days. It frustrates him that the government takes part of his hard earned money to pay for people who won't get a job. Now, don't get on your high horse...neither he nor I are talking about the people who have lost job during this current economic situation. But here's Dad's idea.

He periodically has to take a drug test where he works. Many company's do this now as standard procedure. So, if he has to take a drug test to keep his job, why don't welfare recipients have to take a drug test to receive their assistance. If drug use is evident, then no assistance is given.

I wonder if someone in Washington will read this and give this idea a whirl? Or if it would be too politically incorrect because the reason these people are on drugs is because they are down-trodden by society?

I say 'bah' to that possibility! If anyone has an excuse to take drugs to escape, it would be the hard working individuals who keep this country together. They get up 5 days a week and spend most of their day working in one capacity or another and putting up with all of the stresses that entails. Then they come home and sit around the kitchen table with their checkbook in hand and wonder how they are going to pay all of the bills this month because the expenses keep going up and the checks keep shrinking. So if there is someone who has a 'reasonable' excuse to use drugs, it is the hard working middle class, not the ones sitting at home watching television all day after they pick up their government assistance.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:47 PM | Permalink

I did not vote for President Obama. I did not think he had the experience needed to hold the highest office in the land. He is smart, but his smarts are book smarts. And book smarts are not enough. He makes a pretty speech. He looks good on camera, though like many other presidents before him, the grey in his hair has grown exponentially since he took office a year ago. He is naive. Or at least he was when he took the office of President. He thought he could bring about change just by saying it. He thought that being the first black President of the U.S. would mean change was inevitable. But instead of getting people to work together, he and the Democratic Party have been ramming their agenda down the throats of the rest of the people in the country. And last week, the country fought back with the vote in Massachussetts.

While I did not vote for Obama, I was hoping that the years with him as leader would help to bring our country closer together. I hoped he really could get in there and make a difference.The divide in this country between the conservatives and liberals has grown larger than the Grand Canyon. The urbanites, who lean to the liberal side view the rural inhabitants as stupid, bigoted, and backward. The rurals, who tend to lean towards the conservative end of the spectrum are outraged at the liberals who they see as lazy people who don't know the meaning of hard work and who are trying to undermine the basic principles of our country.

Guess what...it's not black and white and both sides are wrong. We all need one another. Much like the North and South back in the 1800s, we are two sides that make part of a whole. Each side has strengths and weaknesses and if we would stop letting lobbyists and politicians divide us, we could come together and become the better nation for it. Instead we are fighting amongst ourselves like children and we are letting the media drive a wedge between us.

It has become a game of tit for tat. The Republicans mistreated the Democrats when they were in control. When the Democrats came to office, they did the same and said, 'well they did it first.' Come on...are you children or grown men and women?

Someone is going to have to be brave, step up, roll up their sleeves and say 'let's work together'.

And then someone else is going to have to make a stand and say..."Yep! We are here at the request of the public. They voted for us. They pay our salary. We need to find out what it is they want, then we need to figure out how to please the most people. We need to stop making this a peacock show where we all strut around trying to outshine the other. We need to get down to the business of building a government that the people want."

My kids and I have been studying some about the American Revolution lately. I hope that our country doesn't have to resort to another revolution to bring us all together, but things need to change. America stands on the beliefs of the rights of the people. America led the way by creating a government that was formed by the people and was supposed to work for the people. And America led the way by creating a Bill of Rights that said what the government could not to do the people. Yet, instead of continuing to be a beacon of light and leading the way in this world, we have become a country of bickering children who can only see things one way - theirs. I know those who will vote along party lines regardless of the candidates. The politicians and media have done their job well. And we have become lazy. Why try to figure out what the politician stands for? Why try to determine who will make the better leader? Why use our brains at all? Just ask the question...who is from which party, then pick the party that you have become brainwashed to follow.

WAKE UP! We need fresh blood. We need a new strong 3rd party. We need to stop business as usual in Washington! We need people who believe in America. We need people who will listen to their constituents. We need people who spend their time in office concentrating on making our country a better place instead of spending their time if office thinking about how they can position themselves to win the next election. Our country desparately needs term limits! 6 years for the President with no chance at re-election. Then he can spend all of his time working on his job, not worrying about getting re-elected. The same thing for senators and representatives. Think of the money our country would save because these servants, and that is what they are supposed to be, would be spending their time in office actually working, not seeking photo ops and impressive interviews.

I started writing this post with the thought in mind that I am sorry that President Obama's desire for change has hit a brick wall. He, along with others in the past, came into Washington hoping to change things, yet here we are...business as usual. So my post evolved into my rambling thoughts of the changes we need to make if our country is to go forward. Or we can continue to sit and spin our wheels, changing leaders every few years, and having more and more hard feelings rise up among Americans... And while we are bickering among ourselves, other countries will grow and surpass us. And some countries, or the terrorists hiding in them, will take advantage of our division and our business as usual attitude and weaken us even more.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:00 PM | Permalink

I have often heard it said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We see this when people imitate celebrity hairstyles and fashions. We see this when our children latch onto an older friend or a popular child and begin to imitate them. It is their way of being accepted, being part of the pack, fitting in. And it is their way of telling the person they are looking up to that 'Hey, I think your style rocks.'

I have also said 'imitation is the sincerest form of flattery' when my children get on one another's nerves. You know...the big brother sits around copying everything the little sister is saying... or vice versa? Or a child is copying a teenager's words or actions and it is driving the teenager crazy. This statement is a two-edged sword in this case. If it is the older one 'mocking' the younger one or trying to annoy them by copying what they say, they shut up pretty quickly...after all, they aren't actually trying to flatter the younger child. Not at all, they are trying to annoy the younger child! In the case of the younger imitating the teen, it helps the teen take a deep breath and think...'okay, this little kid thinks I am cool...guess I can live with it.'

But there is another side of imitation that we tend to not think about. That is our child imitating us. How many times have you heard your child say a scathing remark to someone, only to realize they heard it from you? Much like Ralphie in A Christmas Story the child knows where they heard the scathing remark (or bad word or saw the bad habit), but if asked, they might not want to tell.

However to the honest parent, we know. We are looking at the mirror of ourselves. Sometimes that image is flattering and sometimes....well sometimes, it is enough to make us want to hang our heads in shame.

What got me thinking about this is that I often underestimate how my own energy and inclinations can affect others in the house. If I am upbeat, it tends to ripple through the family. If I am snarly, well, guess what, snarly comes back to me. Last week, I was all a bustle. I was up on time, took time for my devotions, exercised, got lots of stuff done here at home...was a whirlwind of activity. And what I saw was my children exercising, reading their bibles, and getting their school work done in a timely manner.

This week...well, this week has been much less energetic and as rats followed the Pied Piper out of town, my children have followed me into my 'not getting much done' mode.

So, when we see our children behaving in ways we wish they wouldn't, it is best to look at ourselves, because in all likelihood, they are just being our living mirror. On the bright side, when they do something that makes us want to beam from ear to ear, we should pat ourselves on the back...because we probably did it first.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:33 PM | Permalink

I don't watch award shows. I used to when I was a kid. It was neat to see all the stars and to try to figure out who would win. But now I am happy reading the day after report. But this is an award show that I would watch on television...if only it were televised.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

If you haven't seen the "I Pledge" Video, take a few moments and watch it now. Go ahead, I'll wait....

I found out about this video when my husband forwarded me an article that expressed concern over the references to 'serving' President Obama and over "Obama worship".

I watched this video and I didn't see it the same way as the author of the article. While I am bothered very much by the fact that these people seem to be pledging their allegiance to a person instead of to their country (remember how that worked out for Germany?), I tend to look at the positive side of things.

I wish that more people had pledged to stand behind President Bush instead of attacking him from Day One, but if people are ready to stand up now and take responsibility and reach out to their fellow human being, I say we should not beat a dead horse, but we should look at this as a great leap forward for a better tomorrow.

Many in this nation have become so wrapped up in their own self-importance, that they forget to look out for their neighbors, their friends, people on the street and even for family. Yet, we see when tragedy strikes (be it a tornado, a flood, or a terrorist attack), these same people pull out all the stops to help those affected. Wouldn't it be amazing if we didn't wait for the disaster to strike, but if instead, we each made it a priority each and every day to do something positive in the life of another human being? Can you even begin to imagine the possiblities!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:50 PM | Permalink

My hubby forwarded this article to me this morning. For those of you who believe that President Bush was evil incarnate, don't bother reading it because it won't change your mind. But for those of you who wonder just how history will treat President Bush, perhaps you would be interested in reading the article as it shows the facts of accomplishments.

And for those of you who are wondering if I am turning this into a political blog, rest assured I am not. It's just with the changing of the guard, I have been thinking about it a lot this week and what better place to share my thoughts than here?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

On Tuesday, the kids and I got our school work done in a timely fashion and gathered about the television to watch the Inauguration of our 44th President. I don't think I have seen an inauguration in years. If I did, it didn't make a lasting impression on me. But I have a friend who impressed upon me how significant it was that we live in a country where the change of power occurs without a shot fired. And of course, there was the special significance of this being the first African American President.

I am glad we watched. I was just about moved to tears when President Bush walked in for the last time to the tune "Hail to the Chief". He had a rough presidency with not anywhere near the support he should have had for the tough decisions he had to make. As he walked in, I couldn't help but imagine that his step was a little bit lighter...his time was done and he could head back to Texas and his ranch and to a life where he was in more in control of his life and din't have the weight of the world on his shoulders.

I felt sorry for President Obama that his swearing in got botched. At first I thought it was nerves (and heaven knows, I would have been nervous), but then to find out that Chief Justice Roberts goofed.... However, I did not find this misstep to deflect from the importance of the moment (though it did remind me of when I graduated from high school and the principal messed up the reading of my name!)

President Obama gave a good speech and exuded confidence and hope. The music that John Williams wrote was awesome! Aretha Franklin had on quite a hat! And the packed mall was an amazing thing to see.

I found it moving when President and First Lady Obama walked President and Mrs. Bush to the helicopter. The commentators made the remark that it seemed the two had grown close in the preceeding weeks as evidenced by the heartfelt hugs that were being passed around.

All in all, it was an hour and a half well spent. It was an excellent reminder of what living in a free country means.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:30 AM | Permalink

Today at high noon, President Obama steps into history and becomes the 44th President of the United States of America. Not only is this moment historical because of the fact that 1/2 century ago, African Americans were not allowed in 'white' establishments, but it is a moment of hope for our country. A reminder of all that is good in America - the democratic process does work, the people's voice is still heard. It is a testament to the world, that power can change hands, not just from person to person, but from party to party without a shot fired.

I did not vote for Barack Obama. My choice wasn't influenced by his skin color, but by my concern over his lack of experience, the people he surrounded himself with, the message he was taught in church, and my concern over his naivete on how to handle other world leaders. But as the new President of our country, I will do all I can to support him (as long as it doesn't conflict with my moral values and that would be true of any President).

Continue reading "Welcome President Obama. Thank you, President Bush." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1988. I learned many useful things while in college. But as a Sociology major, one of the most important and lastingly helpful things I learned was to take every poll with a grain of salt.

As this very difficult election season heads towards its culmination, we are bombarded with poll statistics on every side. They mostly say Obama is in the lead, but the lead ranges from tenths of a point to 15 points. The percent of undecided seems to be between 6% and 10%. The thing that worries me about this bombardment of polls is that people are already believing Obama is the winner. They see he is ahead, and that is what they focus on. Then, should the undecided swing the way of McCain, or the votes don't go the way the polls are stating, there will be a cry of foul play! The vote has been fixed! Likewise if Obama were to win by a landslide, the same cries will be raised because of doubts already in place due to voter registration irregularities. Polls are really a detriment to the political process.

For those voters who want to say they voted for the winner, they will simply vote for whoever is in the lead. For those voters who don't want to have to check into the issues, who want someone else to do the hard work for them, they will also vote for whoever is in the lead based on the polls because they believe that person must be the best choice if most of the people are voting for them. I know we don't like to believe that people are so 'weak minded', but there are those that are and polls don't encourage them to gain information on their own.

Continue reading "Beware! Political Polls Don't Show the Whole Truth" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am not a party voter. I have voted for Democrats, Republicans and even 'third party' candidates like Ross Perot. The way I roll is to vote for the person that I think will do the best job.

For instance, I am voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin. I don't think Obama has the country's best interests at heart. I think he is naive and is likely to make some very costly mistakes because of it. I would love to have a national health care plan, but that is not enough to make me vote for a man I just don't feel comfortable with having as President.

On the other hand, I had decided to vote for Mark Warner. I didn't want Mark Warner to be governor, but I felt like he did a good job when he was Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He brought a lot of business into the state and helped areas of the state that had been hard hit economically as they tried to move from old standbys (like tobacco) into the new century. The last Saturday of September, I was working with Jack and Katrina at a youth fundraiser booth in Bedford for Centerfest. I looked up at a man who stopped by and was shaking hands with people in our booth, then I realized it was Mark Warner! How cool! He said something to me to the effect of 'are you trying to get people to stop by from both sides of the fence?' because I was wearing a McCain sticker and a Warner sticker. I talked with him and the reporters following him and explained that I voted on the person, not the party they were running with. Another gal in my booth said the same thing, though she wasn't voting for Warner.

Today, a gal sent a link to my homeschool email list regarding a political ad. First, that is a no-no on our list because we don't discuss politics or religion on our list. We keep things friendly. But, I know why she sent it. It was of importance to homeschoolers. I saw the title of the link and went to check it out. This video is what I found. As a homeschooler, a person of faith, and the daughter of a NRA member, I am appalled to see what Mark Warner really thinks of me.

Mr. Warner, you have lost my vote. I can only hope the word gets round to the other people like me in the Commonwealth as to what you really think. And Mr. Warner, in case you are at all concerned...I believe the very people that you say are threatening what it means to be an American are indeed the ones that are trying to keep America on the track that used to make it a beloved country around the world. And Mr. Warner, I have many homeschool friends that sit on both sides of the political spectrum. I cannot begin to imagine how they will feel that you have lumped them in with people that they are often opposed to.

Big foot in mouth moment, but thanks for your honesty. I would have hated to have voted for you and found out your opinions when it was too late.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

I watched the debate last night. Well, sort of. My dad called and talked to me during the beginning and I was listening but also trying to get caught up on some emails. It's hard to read and listen to something at the same time. But something struck me as I listened...Senator Obama called Senator McCain 'John' many times. I never heard Senator McCain call 'Barack'.

Now maybe I am a bit old school, but a Senator deserves the respect of having his title used. Senator Obama's frequent use of Senator McCain's first name seemed condescending to me.

What do you think?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well, I tried a new game for my DS this month. I got MYST. I have been toying with it the last couple of months, but let me tell you, I wish I had read some of the reviews out there before getting it. I had the game for PC years ago and never made much headway with it. I was intrigued by it, but had much more success with 7th Guest and 11th Hour.

Since it is on DS, I thought I would give it a whirl. Hey, maybe I am smarter now...maybe becasue the platform is now the DS, it has gotten easier...wrong on both counts.

If anything, the game has gotten harder. I am stuck in the first world I went to visit because even though I have my sounds lined up in proper order, the game refuses to recognize that! I even went online to a cheat site (which I try very hard not to do)...I put the game up last night, feeling more than a little bit disgusted with the whole thing. I will give it a couple of days and try again, but all of the reviews I read, said the same thing...the audio on the game is hard to understand and that is an important component of the game.

Moral of the story...LOOK FOR ONLINE REVIEWS BEFORE purchasing...you can often save yourself a lot of grief and money too:) Also, be sure to share your two cents about games, books, movies, etc. It helps people make better decisions.

I have written a second review of this game after playing around with it some more. Be sure to check it out before you make a decision.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Whew, that was a long title. Today, I was visiting the Drudge Report. If you have never visited this website, it is a neat place to go to get a variety of headlines from around the world. Anyway, today, Matt Drudge was running these two articles:

Scientists From Around the Globe Join ABC News in a Forum on Surviving the Century

Global Warming and the Price of a Gallon of Gas

The first article is about an upcoming ABC 2 hour special designed to show us what the doomsayers are showing our next 100 years are going to be like.

The second article is a scathing attack on the global warming hysteria and the fact that there are way more scientists saying it is bull, than there are that is saying it is the gospel truth. According to the second article, we are causing a lot of our own problems by jumping onto the global warming band wagon.

Continue reading "Global Warming - Political Hysteria or Have Are The Skeptics Falling into the Peter and the Wolf Trap?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today I was reading an article in Good Housekeeping about a mom whose son was constantly encouraging her to decrease their families carbon footprint. This mom drives a VW bug and keeps her house at a chilly 62 degrees in the winter time. She recycles. She turns off lights when she leaves the room. But when she went to the carbon calculator it informed her that she was using 12 tons more carbon a year than the average family in the United States.

I wanted to get my own number. I have to say, I was surprised. As you know I was gifted with a SUV this year, not exactly friendly to the environment, but it was a most wonderful gift. My number showed that we are only 6 tons over the national average.

Now, my gripe with this little calculator is this....

Continue reading "ClimateCrisis.net Needs A Better Carbon Calculator" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:38 AM | Permalink

Dear Ms. Sarandon,

I was recently surfing the web and ran across an article that said:

SUSAN SARANDON, who appeared in three films last year and won kudos for her TV movie "Bernard and Doris," is still not a contented soul. She says if John McCain gets elected, she will move to Italy or Canada. She adds, "It's a critical time, but I have faith in the American people."

OK, American people. You don't want Susan to move out of the country, so it's up to you to elect Barack Obama. What? You thought Susan of all people would be for Hillary Clinton? Well, no. She told John Hiscock: "I thought the whole point of feminism is that you're not supposed to be defined by gender. I don't understand the reasoning behind that, because I wouldn't vote for Condoleezza Rice, and I hated Margaret Thatcher."

I would like to respectfully offer my services to help you move from America. And I would respectfully suggest that you move sooner rather than later. I mean...why wait? If you are unhappy with the way things are here and you have no more belief in America than this, just go. Because quite honestly, you aren't that important and we really don't need you here spouting off how unpatriotic you are.

Continue reading "Dear Susan Sarandon" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:01 PM | Permalink

My husband and I support the fact that our troops are in Afghanistan and Iraq. We feel it is a necessity and as a Marine veteran, Daniel and I both believe that people who join the Armed Forces do it knowing what the potential is for them ending up fighting and making the ultimate sacrifice. It is not an easy thing, but we demean the men and women in the armed services when we talk about how their lives are being wasted.

So Daniel emailed me a link today that contained a video made by a soldier in Afghanistan. We don't often see this kind of thing on the news. They all focus on the horrors, but do not share the triumphs or many stories about how the soldiers feel about what they are doing. I always felt that it was best to get that type of information straight from the horses mouth. Wouldn't it paint a different picture for us if we had more balanced news in front of us?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Miley Cyrus, whose show Hannah Montana is a staple in our household, has found herself in the news again. This time it is for a photo that will be appearing on the cover of the next edition of Vanity Fair. Now, there is nothing that Miley is showing in this photo that we wouldn't see if she were in a bathing suit or backless dress. But at the same time, this is a young lady that children ages 6-16 admire. They want to dress like her, look like her, be her. I have watched her show and I have admired the fact that Billy Ray and his wife, Tish, have been doing a good job of trying to raise Miley to be as down to earth as they can inspite of her stardom.

But, I can't help wonder what everyone was thinking when they allowed Miley to pose this way. As I said, she is not revealing anything, but the suggestiveness of the pose is not something appropriate for a fifteen year old girl, nor or is this appropriate for a young girl who is a role model to millions of children.

I worry about where Miley will go in the future. I don't want to see her follow the paths of so many recent female stars (like Britney Spears). I know we all make mistakes and Miley says this was one and she has learned from it. If so, bravo for her. If this is a publicity stunt or a way to start moving Miley towards a different audience, then shame on them for losing sight of the audience that they already have a responsibility for.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

My hubby sent me the link to this article this morning and I wanted to pass it on.

I don't talk a lot on my blog about homeschooling. I am passionately committed to it, but I also believe we all have different viewpoints as to the value of homeschooling versus public schooling and as to the value of the different types of homeschooling that are out there. I hang out with people who range from unschoolers to people who use a complete curriculum and classroom desks. We are in the middle somewhere.

I am deeply disturbed that what was a given a hundred and fifty years ago (education taking place in the home) is now questioned. I understand that there are parents that abuse their children or who aren't competent, but that has always been the case. There are parents of children in the school system that abuse their children and are competent in regards to bringing up a child. And those children are not always found out just because they are in the public system.

Our government was created on the principals that we are to be ruled by the people. The people are supposed to be in charge, but we seem to be willing to hand over more and more of our freedoms to a bureaucracy that doesn't always have our best interests at heart. And I think we do this because we are lazy. It is easier to let someone else settle these matters than put forth the efforts ourselves.

I hope that things will even out in California as the rest of the country has a tendency to look to Californians as leaders. But if things go against homeschoolers in California, the rest of us have a duty to speak up and to make sure our rights as parents are not trampled on.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:14 AM | Permalink

I was lucky growing up. At least, I guess it was part luck, and perhaps it was part of me being who I am. I never ever smoked a cigarette. I didn't ever drink too much until I reached college, and then only on a few occasions and I never was approached by anyone offering me illegal drugs, nor did I have a desire to seek them out.

I had a grandmother who was virtually a chain smoker. I hated the way it smelled, the way the nicotine yellowed her fingers and her teeth and the way everything about her smelled of cigarettes. My parents always told me that if I wanted to try a cigarette, they would go out and buy me a pack and let me light up. I never had any desire to take them up on their offer (that tactic doesn't work with all children, but it worked with me...that and my natural aversion to the stuff).

Continue reading "Addiction...a Growing Problem" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:55 PM | Permalink

I have a question...why is it that when we buy a man pants, the pants have two sizes...the waist and the length, but when we buy women's pants, we find no such ease of purchase!

We can buy petit, average and tall to be sure, but why aren't pants offered to us via the inseams like they are for men? I mean for men you can get pants of lengths 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, etc. Why must we be bound to have pants of the wrong lengths so that we have to hem them to get them to fit?

Women, unite! Complain! Make your voice heard! We deserve to be able to shop just as easily as men do for proper fitting pants!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday, I visited Barbara Frank's blog and found a very interesting article there on the Gloomy Stats about Colleges and Jobs. Before you read my piece further, I encourage you to read what she has to say. She has some great stats and comments that will make a jumping off place for this post. Go ahead, click. A new window will open up and then you can come back here when you are done. Don't worry, I'll wait.

There, are you back now? Are you depressed now? Have you had in the back of your mind that college is the way for your children to achieve the American dream? Don't be depressed, you have just gained a great advantage, you have been told that there are other options. That you don't have to spend the family fortune or push your children deep into debt for a degree that may not be anything more than a lovely piece of paper for the living room wall and experience in the latest drinking games.

Now, don't get me wrong, I went to College. The College of William and Mary to be exact. I was the first person on my father's side of the family to attend college and graduate with a four year degree. I had known my whole childhood that I would be going to college. I am an only child and my parents worked hard to put me through college. I worked in college but it was for extra money and when I left college, we owed about $10,000 (which was 1/2 the cost of my stay in college). I treasure the time I spent at William and Mary. I learned a lot about life there, was able to learn independence within a protected setting and I have a really great degree in Latin to hang on my wall.

Continue reading "Is A College Education The Way to A Successful Future?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday, my husband sent me a link to an article on why a school banned legos. This article came from Rethinking Schools Online and I will warn you, it is a very long article.

Basically, it is about an afterschool program. The children started building lego town. They would bargain for pieces, they built a variety of buildings, and they became possessive. The town stayed up for several weeks and the teachers noted that other children were being rebuffed. They were told they couldn't play with the Legotown because it belonged to the kids who had been working on it. Apparently, instead of complaining to the teachers or instead of the teachers stepping in (as they obviously saw what was going on), the kids who weren't allowed to play with the Legos acted like they didn't really want to play anyway.

This continued until an unforeseen tragedy occured(and I can't help but wonder how long it would have continued. It seems to me the teachers were using these kids as part of an experiment.) Anyway, the accident was some other children from church were allowed into the room to play and Legotown was destroyed (much as if Godzilla had come through).

Continue reading "Why A School Banned Legos..." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

No, that is not a misspelling, nor is it someone who goes out and catches fish! A phisher is a person who tries to entice you to clicking on a button so they can get more information from you and eventually get money or some other thing from you.

Ever since I have started selling on eBay, I get bogus emails. Some looke like they came from eBay, some look like they came from Paypal. But all it takes is a bit of common sense on your part to know the difference.

For instance, today I got an phishing email from an eBay member. This member was telling me that they had paid me two weeks ago, that I had better respond or else they would be contacting eBay, paypal, and the police. Now, my first tip on this was that I hadn't sold anything on eBay in the last few weeks, but let's say I was doing a booming business on there....my next tip that this was bogus was the information I saw when I scrolled down...

Apparently, I had sold this person a small island in the South Pacific! Dang, if I had a small island in the South Pacific, I would be living on it, not selling it! It makes me shake my head sadly over these stupid things. I mean, if you really want to phish someone, why not take the time to find out what they sell so they might do a double take.

Continue reading "Beware of Phishers" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

During Bloggy Giveaways I won this beautiful Bible tote bag from Elaine at Inspirational Christian Stories, Poems, Gifts

This beautiful and durable bag arrvied yesterday and I am so excited. I am currently filling in at my church's Awanas group for a gal who is out having a baby and this tote will be perfect for carrying my Awanas items in.

Elaine is a work at home mom who is in the business of helping others to spread inspiration. Think about it, when you give a friend a gift with a bible verse on it or you carry a purse with scripture on it or drink from an inspirational coffee cup at work, you are opening up the way to witness to others. I would encourage you to support a WAHM and to increase your role in spreading the Good News by shopping at Elaine's Inspirational Gift Gallery.

Remember, while we all may wear our crosses to church on Sunday and carry our inspirational bible covers to church, it is important to show those signs of our belief in our everyday life. So if someone has a question, we are a beacon to invite them to learn more about our Savior. If we don't have any outward appearance of our belief, then we lose that opportunity to reach out to others who might otherwise approach us.

God bless!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:16 AM | Permalink

I know most, if not all of us were astounded to learn of Heath Ledger's passing this week. His wasn't a name I ever heard link with drugs or other types of misbehavior so prevalent among today's stars.

I haven't seen all of Mr. Ledger's films. Of those I did see, his part in 10 Things I Hate About You was probably my favorite. It was a neat role and he was a handsome leading man with a lot of charisma.

I was shocked and saddened when I heard that his life had been cut so drastically short and I can only imagine the pain that his family and loved ones are experiencing.

I am angry with the media. The media has gotten to the point where they rush to the scene, jump to conclusions and make ridiculous statements all in the name of 'journalism'. If I were part of Mr. Ledger's family, I would be seriously considering lawsuits.

Continue reading "Heath Ledger - The Media Shame" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Hey all, if you have vistied my friend Laura in the past, you will know that she has awesome contest posts! Everyday, she provides links to contests all over the blogosphere. I have won a bunch of stuff because I read her contest post every day and enter several a day. She also provides recipes, product reviews, and just bits of life posts.

Well Blogger, owned by Google, has tagged her as a spam blog and has locked her out of her blog. She can't post new entries. But she has found a way around this dilemma. If you want to check out her blog for the first time or if you are a regular, you will find she has her posts up and running, but they are not being picked up via RSS or email fees.

So, go over to Laura's, get your contest fix and show your support!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yesterday my daughter wanted to go to Walmart. She had some money left from Christmas gifts and she wanted to get a Hans Solo action figure (as Star Wars is her newest obsession). Well, it took us some time to find a Hans Solo figure. There were only two left and they were on an end cap instead of their regular spot. Hans came with Chewbacca as well. She paid 11.00 for the two and happily left the store. Within an hour, the head of Hans had come lose from the figure. She has been able to put it back on and it stays (except when she puts on his Storm Trooper disguise and then goes to take off the helmet.

Now, I know $11.00 isn't a huge amount of money, but it is enough money to expect to receive a toy that will hold up more than a couple of hours! And this isn't our first unhappiness with action figures. When Pirates of the Caribbean were the favorite action figures, we have Barbossa, Jack Sparrow, Will, Elizabeth, Bootstrap Bill and Davy Jones. All of them, except Elizabeth who is the newest acquisition, have missing body parts. Now my kids have played with them a lot, but not in such a way that their body parts should ahve been falling off in the first week of purchase.

Don't companies test these toys for their hold togetherness anymore? Isn't the purpose of an action figure to be played with? Shouldn't the manufacturers expect these toys to hold up to play? Is anyone else disgruntled with the poor products we are being sold?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer Christmas of 1992. She was only 66 years old. That was her last Christmas with us. Over the next 11 months, she underwent chemotherapy for lung cancer. She wanted to remain in her apartment and she lived 3 hours away from her only child and grandchild (mom and me). One of my mom's cousins was able to take her to therapy and my mom and Jim went to visit just about every weekend. For awhile, the chemo seemed to knock by the cancer but with it came horrible side effects that made my grandmother miserable. Food, one of her greatest joys, all tasted bad. Her nails grew too thick for her to care for properly and her hair fell out. My grandmother had always prided herself in her appearance and this was a double blow for her. The cancer was only held at bay for awhile. In September of 1993, it advanced and she ended up in the hospital. The cancer had spread to her brain, her spine, and her thorax. She was not able to return home and Mom began to look for a care environment for her.

We found a nursing home that seemed good, but in the end turned out to be sadly lacking. They certainly could have benefitted from new products such as assisted living software which would have helped them to keep track of schedules and provide better care. Instead, my grandmother was not moved as she should have been so she developed horrible bed sores.

Continue reading "Assisted Living - Improving?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:33 PM | Permalink

Now this is an interesting idea! A man in California saved every piece of trash (except for food scraps as he composts those) that he generated in the last year and has them stored in bins in his apartment. The article says that he saved every tissue, bottle, scrap of paper that he used and that he hopes an artist will use it as some kind of art.

First I would like to commend him for only using that much trash! If I kept our trash for a year, then our house would be covered in trash bags, I feel pretty sure. I wonder about a couple of things. He kept every tissue...does that mean the ones he blew his nose on? Does that include what every paper products he used in the bathroom? Or how about napkins and paper towels. Forgive me, but that all seems like it would be pretty darn disgusting!

Also, he says he kept plastic bottles, but what about recycling? We, I am ashamed to say, generate large amounts of trash. We compost our food. We recycle mixed paper. We haven't yet returned to recycling plastic, cans or glass because 1) in the country you have to go a bit out of you way to do that and 2) I don't have the space to store three more recycling containers.

So how about you? Could you keep a year's worth of trash in bins in your home, would that hold it all and would there be room left for you?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:13 PM | Permalink

MSNBC is reporting that Germany Security Leaders are trying to ban Scientology. They believe that the goals of Church of Scientology are be in conflict with the principles of the nation’s constitution and they will seek to ban the organization.

Germany has had Scientologist under surveillance for over 10 years.

The Scientologists have long battled to end the surveillance, saying it is an abuse of their right to freedom of religion. They point to several lower court rulings in favor of their right to practice in Germany as a religious organization.

The U.S. State Department regularly criticizes Germany in its annual Human Rights Report for the monitoring practice.

The interior ministers gave no specific examples for their decision, but the most recent annual report on extremism compiled by their agencies criticized the organization for disregarding human rights.

“From a number of sources, some of them not available to the public, it has been determined that (the organization) seeks to limit or rescind basic and human rights, such as the right to develop one’s personality and the right to be treated equally,” the report said.

Continue reading "German Leaders are Trying to Ban Scientology" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 4:17 PM | Permalink

MSNBC is reporting how a gas station clerk's error cost a business owner 1,734.56 in less than two hours. When changing the gas pump prices, the clerk mistakenly left of the final number '9' in the price (3.299) so the pump read the price as .33/gallon). The error went unnoticed by the clerks, but not by customers. And word spread quickly. No one bothered to let the store employees know, and in fact, even after the store was closed, people were lining up at the pump two cars deep to use their credit cards on this great deal.

The police noticed the commotion and called the store owner who came and pushed the emergency stop button. She couldn't believe how many dishonest people were taking advantage of the mistake.

So what do you think? Were these people dishonest and greedy? What should they have done? What would you have done?

I have a good friend who owns a convenience store and she has told me how little she makes off of a gallon of gas. So basically that 1734.56 is going to come out of the pocket of the store owner unless there is some kind of insurance that covers human error. Can you imagine if you lost that kind of money in less than 2 hours because of a mistake?

The first person who noticed their good fortune (and maybe they didn't notice it until they were done pumping and pay up time came), should have gone to the clerk and said...hey, something's not right here. Just like everyone else, I struggle with the rising gas prices, but as a good citizen, when I note an honest mistake, the thing to do is to tell someone in charge, not phone a few of my friends. And perhaps, that first person would have been given their gas at the incorrect price as a reward for pointing out the error, perhaps not, but the reward isn't the point, doing the right thing is.

Since most of these people seem to have paid with credit cards, I can't help but wonder if the law won't be catching up with them. There will be a record of their purchases after all. But then that was the price on the pump, so there may be nothing that can be done. Maybe some will have a bout of guilty conscience and come in and offer to make it right to the store owner. One can only hope.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:37 AM | Permalink

Some people get new cars every few years. More people are like us, I think. They drive a car until it simply won't drive anymore! We have gotten rid of several cars over the years. They were too worn out and tired to sell. We could have paid to have them towed to the junk yard, but we found a better resource for our old cars. Now when we have an old car that isn't worth reselling either because it is broken or because it would cost more to pay for the ads to sell it than we could get for it, we know we have another option. An option that saves us money on our taxes. An option that helps others. An option that is easy and doesn't cost us money for disposal.

Car Angel will be happy to help you with your car donation. You may either call them or go online and fill out your information and they will contact you. They will handle all the details of towing (if necessary to be towed) and title transfers. They use these cars to help raise money for a variety of worthwhile programs. Car Angel Ministries creates Children's DVDs, Anti-drug Movies & prison literatureso that the generation growing up will have the same values that have made America great. They have given away over 2.4 million videos. They are a non-profit organization who is working for the betterment of people.

Here is the link to part of one of the videos they have made. Donkey Ollie is a Christian Children's Animation.

So before you pay to have your car towed away or before you pay for expensive ads and sit around waiting for the phone to ring, contact Car Angel and see if they would be interested in your automobile. Help someone else by sharing the automobile you no longer want.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:28 PM | Permalink

Last week, I was one of the lucky ones who was sent a free copy of Michael W. Smith's newest CD. We love Christmas music in our house and own over 20 Christmas CDs. My favorite radio station started playing Christmas music 24/7 last week and will do so until the day after Christmas. I couldn't wait to received a new sampling of Christmas music to add to our collection.

Tonight, as I wrapped up some gifts, I listened to the CD. It is beautiful! One of the things I really like about it is the variety. All of the songs are different. I know, you are saying, of course they are different...wouldn't be much of a CD with 11 of the same songs on it... Well, that's not what I mean. I mean, there are different types of songs an different types of instruments. There is pretty much something for everyone on this Christmas disc.

What I enjoyed about the CD was that I slowed down. Since it was a new CD, I took my time wrapping presents and slowed down and thought what Christmas means to me. The things about Christmas that are important and the things that are not. I put aside my worries for awhile and was swept away by the various songs. Christmas music is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season. Singing and listening to old favorites and learning new favorites brings great joy to my family.

During the holidays its never easy to find gifts for people. Being able to get Christmas baskets online is a convenience. When you can get unique gift baskets such as chocolate gift baskets its easy to getting that gift at christmas for a special someone.

Continue reading "Christmas CD - Michael W. Smith: It's a Wonderful Christmas" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:37 PM | Permalink

Here it is the morning of Thanksgiving. My pies are made. My turkey is in the oven and I am having the inevitable thoughts of how I am going to lose the weight I am going to gain in the weeks ahead (never mind the fact that it would be easier not to gain the weight to begin with...that's a whole different post!)

I wish there was some type of Miracle burn. You know a pill I could take and instantly the fat would dissolve overnight and I would be the skinny person that is inside of me dying to get out. But, since that hasn't been invented yet, there is always the struggle over which diet to choose.

I honestly believe Weight Watchers or any sensible eating plan is the way to go. Diet pills can help with the process. But in the end it boils down to sensible eating. The problem is that with all the enticing foods out there, most of us don't want to eat sensibly. We want to be able to eat as much of those tasty dishes as we can and still be skinny too!

So, as you are looking ahead at a month full of parties and goodies, consider this...first, try to contain yourself (this is advice to myself but if it helps you, that's even better). If you don't gain it, then you don't have to lose it in January. But if that fails there are two sure fire things you can do to help you lose weight....eat less and exercise more!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:06 AM | Permalink

Childhood is a time for magic. Children grow up so quickly nowadays. The reality of the world is thrust upon them on a daily basis. I think it is important to help them to enjoy the innocence and magic childhood has to offer for as long as possible. I debate this with myself yearly. After all, I don't want my children to feel lied to. But I have such fond memories of Christmas magic when I was a child, that I decided it was important for me to pass on to my children a taste of that same magic.

When I think back to my growing up years, I remember the joy of leaving cookies and milk out for Santa, the belief that I knew I heard those prancing and pawing hooves on my roof, and the delight when the next morning would find the milk and cookies devoured and presents left under the tree.

When I turned 6, I lost my two front teeth on Christmas Eve. Imagine my happiness to find money under my pillow on Christmas Day and presents under the tree. Remember my surprise when I noticed a square piece of foil...the same one that I had left under my pillow the night before for the tooth fairy! We quickly determined that Santa and the Tooth Fairy must have been at my house at the same time! (And I missed it!) They probably got to talking. I am sure Santa shared some of his milk and cookies (what a treat for the tooth fairy) and in the joy of their meeting, the tooth fairy forgot my teeth. I left them under my pillow again for her that night and she rewarded me with two more quarters. What a year that was!

Continue reading "Christmas Memories...Arrange for a Magical Phone Call From Santa" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our children are more plugged into the world than ever before. They have computers, iPods, greater television access and video games. Even the video games enable kids to get on the web and interact with people around the world. It used to be that you felt like you had more control over what information your children had access to. It seems like it is impossible to keep them in an 'innocent' stage these days. But the truth is you have the ability to be more in control than ever before.

TV's, Computers, and the newest generation of video game consoles have built in parental controls. What, you are not sure how to activate these controls? You can't find the directions? No worries! The ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) can help! Just click on the link belove and you will be directed to a website that will provide step by step directions on how you can activate the parental controls on Microsoft XBox 360, Microsoft Windows Vista, Nintendo Wii, and Sony Playstation. You won't have to worry anymore about what they may be doing because you will be in the driver's seat.

Another way that you can control what your children are playing is by being alert to ESRB ratings on the games you buy and what these ratings mean.

Continue reading "ESRB - What Does It Mean? How Can It Help You?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:44 AM | Permalink

I take voting very seriously. I have never missed a major election and haven't missed many of the 'minor' ones. I have tried to instill the importance of voting in my children. So much so, in fact, that I spent an hour during the last presidential election getting my oldest stepson to vote(his car was broken) even though he was going to vote for 'the other guy.'

A dear friend of mine and I sit on the opposite sides of the political fence. We don't talk about politics too much because we don't want it to harm our friendship. But there are some things we agree on and that is that every single vote counts.

The other day she passed me a couple of articles that I want to share with you. There is still plenty of time for you to get out and vote today! If you aren't registered, make it a top priority this coming year. We are so blessed to live in a country where we can vote for candidates. It is appalling how many people throw that priviledge and right away. Other citizens around the world are dying to have what we take for granted.

Continue reading "Reasons to Vote" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:10 AM | Permalink

At the risk that some people may hurl insults at me, I am sharing this interesting news story. By using 1,677 digital pictures that give high resolution images of DaVinci's Last Supper, there is no sign of facial hair on the Apostle John/Mary Magadalene. The images are clear enough that it looks as it would if you were standing only a few inches away from the painting. And it is helping to provide an image of the painting before it deteriorates any further in the polluted air of Milan. The resolution is so amazing that you can even see peacocks painted on the table cloth. I never knew they were there. Did you?

Anyway...I don't have a problem with the possibility that Mary Magdalene and Jesus were married. It would make more sense for him to be married than not, given that day and age. And did not God send Jesus to experience life as a human? Being married would certainly be part of that. And it would make Jesus' sacrifice even more amazing. I can also see the disciples wiping out all records of Jesus' family to protect them because the people of the time had a mentality that if you were offended by someone or found them to be bad, you wiped out the whole family.

The possibility of Mary Magdalene doesn't change my faith that Jesus is my savior, it just means there is more to the story that I don't know. It would just go in the category of things to be explained when I sit at Jesus' feet. I have so many questions. Thank goodness, I will have an eternity to get the answers.

Hat tip: National Geographic

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I received a free sample of Curel Ultra Healing Lotion from Walmart last week. I love the Walmart free samples page because it gives me a chance to check out a product without buying the whole thing.

I have dry skin and in the winter I suffer even more. Usually once or twice a winter my fingers will crack and bleed. My husband fusses about my 'crusty' feet and I hate my 'rusty' elbows and knees. My hands would never pass a dove commercial, they lines in them are already pronounced. So I am always looking for a lotion to help with my issues.

I tried the Curel-ultra healing lotion. The brochure I received said that it can't help but be drawn to dry skin. Its dermatologist-teste formula contains a positive charge that is attracted to dry skin's negative charge, giving you the right amount of moisture right where you need it. It penetrates deeper for complete all-over comfort without that greasy feel. It also claims to heal dry skin 5X better than Eucerin Original Moisturizing Creme in just one use. And it is supposed to last for 24 hours!

So I gave it a whirl and I have to say, it seems to be everything it claims. My skin felt silky, not just for 24 hours, but for about 36 hours. Unfortunately, I only had enough for one application, but I liked it enough, that I will be adding it to my shopping cart in the near future! Thanks, Curel!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:00 PM | Permalink

I was up with the chickens again this week. I didn't plan to get up quite as early, but I left my alarm set to wake me up at 5:00 (which is the time I got up for the yardsale last week). I didn't want to get up until 6:00, but that's just the way it goes. Since it was midnight when I went to sleep, I was a wee bit tired, but a shower woke me up. I did some work, then headed to town to help out with the 4-H bake sale we were doing today. I had made brownies and cookies. I was in charge of bringing tables and I brought signs with prices and I brought a chair to sit in. I didn't bring children, That was my one mistake. I was envisioning four hours of boredom and my daughter, in particular, moaning about when were we going to go home and couldn't I buy her something. I also wasn't sure any of the other moms were going to bring their kids (I should have asked, but it just didn't occur to me...too many other things on my mind right now).

So we went and got set up. We had brownies, peanut butter cookies, 1/2 a lemon pound cake, 4 loaves of bread, cupcakes, muffins, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter granola bars, and bags of popcorn. We started selling at approximately 9:00 a.m. and sold until 1 p.m. We had signs up that we were selling baked goods to raise money so we could send soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait care packages. We explained to people that we would be sending the care packages to unit leaders who would then pass out the items to those soldiers who didn't get much if anything from home. People opened their hearts and their wallets.

Continue reading "An Awesome Day" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:06 PM | Permalink

We live in a culture where everyone seems to want to blame someone or something else for their behavior. And we live in a world where if people are the least bit different from the main stream are suddenly being handing diagnoses of this or that mental illness. The number of mental disorders the general population might exhibit leaped from 180 in 1968 to more than 350 in 1994. So in 30 years, did we become twice as likely to have a mental illness or do the doctors just have too much time on the hands?

Are we more attentive and figuring out more about what is wrong with us or are we trying harder than ever to make sense of our world by putting people into little boxes? Is it too much of a challenge to deal with a child who is fidgety, so instead we give them a label and medicate them so that overstretched personnel have one less thing to worry about? Instead of taking responsibility for our lives and our own feelings, has it become easier to look for past wrongs that have turned us into shy or depressed individuals?

Don't get me wrong, I know there are people in the world who have bad things happen to them and they need counseling or medication to help them deal with it. There are people who have chemical imbalances and there are children who truly have ADHD. I just wanted to throw out some food for thought. Part of what got me thinking about this was an article my hubby sent me.

Continue reading "Are You Shy? Maybe You Have a Mental Illness..." »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:32 PM | Permalink

When I was in school if someone had mentioned to me that the school system was thinking about requiring us to wear uniforms, I would have been first in line to protest! What about my individuality? What about the fact that I look bad in a skirt? Green clashes with my hair and plaid just looks bad. I would have thought it the height of absurdity to expect us all to dress alike.

As an adult, I see the situation differently. I see children wearing Britney Spears clothing to school. Young girls who would look better in Laura Ashley dresses than being dressed like a hooker walking down fifth street. We have become a nation full of undressed people. What are we thinking? It is everywhere! Women wearing clothes that show leave little to the imagination. Men with t-shirts, sagging pants with holes in them....don't we care what we look like anymore?

Continue reading "Dress Code Change for Marines - Good Idea for us All" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have been tossing around the idea of writing a post about how proud I am to live in America. I will warn you now that I do not follow politics, I don't even watch much news. In a way, this is good. It keeps from tainting my perspective of our country that I have had since childhood. In a way it is bad and resembles head stuck in the sand syndrome. I write tihs for me and me alone. If it means anything to anyone else, so be it.

I am proud to live in a country that when times are bad, the citizens band together to help those who need it. Remember the responses from Americans to their fellow countrymen after Hurricane Katrina, 9-11, the 4 hurricanes in Florida, the mid-west Tornadoes. Time and again, Americans rise to the occasion and help others. In fact, Americans do more to help their neighbors and their selves than the government does or could do. And that is the way it should be.

Continue reading "4th of July Post" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Today I was reading about all of the events occuring in Jamestown this week as part of the beginning of their 400th anniversary celebration. Along with the opportunity for visitors to watch archaeolgists at work, the chance for people to tour the reconstructed town and a large variety of other events including a speech by President Bush, there is a crew that set off yesterday to follow Captain John Smith's trail of exploration around the Chesapeake. They are sailingin a boat designed like his and made by many of the same tools. They are going to attempt to complete the 121 day journey using only sails and oars. And they will be christening the first National Historic Water Trail. It sounds like a great adventure!

So I read to the bottom of the article and there at the end was a blurb about 70 protestors outside of Jamestown shouting "Black Power" and "Red Power" and protesting the fact that we were 'celebrating' the anniversary of a town that was the beginning of the decimation of Native Americans and where the first slaves in the United States were brought to.

Continue reading "Jamestown's 400th Anniversary" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:48 AM | Permalink

On February 24th, I wrote an article about the Tasmanian Devil and the cancer that is on the verge of wiping out the species. Today I read an article about a plan to move about 30 unaffected Tasmanian Devils to a nearby island to try and save some of these creatures.

Continue reading "Rescue Efforts Continue to Save Tasmanian Devil" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:58 AM | Permalink

By now, many people have seen this photo of the large toad that is being called "Toadzilla".

Toadzilla: 2 pound Cane Toad captured in Australia.

There are two things that interest me about this oversized toad. One is that I heard a story about him on the radio that told just enough of the facts to grab people's attention, but not the complete story. The other thing that interests me is the cane toad is another example of man's trying to improve on nature and failing miserably.

Continue reading "'Monster' Cane Toad Captured in Australia" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:53 PM | Permalink

Think before you type and hit that send button! God knows we all have opinions and the Internet allows us to share them others want to hear them or not. The nice thing about blogs is that people can share their opinions and you don't have to read them. People tend to visit blogs of like minded individuals or they are searching out specific information. But even on blogs, you should be thinking a little bit about what you say. Would you say these things to the people you are saying them about if they were standing in front of you?

Continue reading "Anonymity Doesn't Give You the Right to be Ugly" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:25 AM | Permalink

On February 25th, I wrote a piece regarding the fact that Virginia had apologized for its past role in slavery. Today, I read that Georgia is not planning on following in Virginia's footsteps. I am very pleased at that. They also are trying to set aside a month devoted to Confederate History. I hope they are successful in their endeavors.

Mullis makes the same point in this article that I made in mine. Why should I apologize for something done by my ancestors? When my step children were small, my husband's grandmother would excuse every action they did because their mother had abandoned them when they were young. Granted, that was an awful thing to happen in their lives, but as human beings with the God given ability to make better of themselves, it is up to them to toss aside something that happened when they were 2 and 6 months old and move on with their life. Blaming all of their indiscretions on one event was inappropriate and hurtful to them. When we continue to look back on slavery as the basis for all of the ills and misfortunes among black people, we are crippling them. We are keeping them from putting it behind them and moving forward. If we owe any apologies, THAT is what we should be apologizing for.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:00 AM | Permalink

It has been more than 18 months since Hurricane Katrina roared into Louisiana and left 81.2 billion dollars worth of damage in her wake. Over 1800 people were dead and hundreds of thousands of people were left without a home. Surrounding communities folded tens of thousands into their communities. New Orleans itself is slowly being repopulated, but only about with about 1/2 of its previous number of occupants. Some have been able to get on with their lives in new towns across the country. Some were lucky enough to return to their homes or to new homes built in the same spot. Many others are stuck...

Continue reading "Hurricane Katrina Survivors Continue to Struggle" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:24 PM | Permalink

I waited all week with anticipation of the Discovery Channel show last night regarding the potential find of The Lost Tomb of Jesus...I have been reviewing the possible implications in my mind during the week. What would it mean for my faith if they found the bones of Jesus? There is controversy over whether he physically ascended or just his spirit ascended. My personal opinion is that the ascension of Jesus was a physical one, after all, it does say in the New Testament that the disciples could touch him. So when he returned he was in human form. However,

Continue reading "Lost Tomb of Jesus? Where's the DNA?" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:07 PM | Permalink

A 12 year old Maryland boy had a toothache, unfortunately his mother didn't have insurance and he had a brother who had 6 really bad teeth in his mouth and she wasn't aware of the 12 year old's problem because his younger brother was the one who was complaining the most. By the time the 12 year, Deamonte, got his tooth attended to, it was too late.

Continue reading "12 Year Old Boy Dies From Lack of Healthcare" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:16 AM | Permalink

I have spent some time thinking through the possibilities and what this discovery means. I have spent some time reading discussion and information on the Discovery website. I got out my Bible are reread some pertinent verses...

Continue reading "More on Jesus Family Tomb" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:04 PM | Permalink

I sit here this morning with mixed feelings wandering through my heart. What does this research mean? Statistical analysis indicates that the chances that this is the tomb of Jesus and his family is 600 to 1. This means that 599 times out of 600, this would be the tomb of Jesus. This is based on the analysis of how many other families during that time would have had the names Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Joseph, Matthew, etc in their tombs. I am staggered by this possibility...

Continue reading "Jesus Family Tomb Believed to be Found" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:45 AM | Permalink

When I first saw this title in my RSS feed list, I had mixed feelings. As a homeschooler, I agree with a year around learning model. I applaud other countries that have moved to the year around model. We adopted it ourselves this past year and it has proved to be a great decision. Children should be learning all the time, why should it stop just because the summer months have rolled around?

Continue reading "Public Schools Moving to Longer Years and Days" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:33 AM | Permalink

The Virginia General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution this weekend apologizing for the state's role in slavery and to Native Americans as well. I suppose this is a grand gesture, but I don't get it...

Continue reading "Virginia Apologizes for Slavery" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:41 AM | Permalink