sharing my science geek!

I'm such a science geek most of the time, I couldn't resist sharing this page I found while Stumbling tonight...hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  It came from the OnlineSchools site.

Via: OnlineSchools.org

A Year of Means

"Out with the old, and in with the new."  Isn't that a saying which has become so cliche at the beginning of a new year?  Why do old things have to go out?  And why do you need new things?  Why not just recycle? Or work with what you already have?  These thoughts poured into my head yesterday as I was rummaging on my computer through some photos I took at the Biltmore Estate years ago on a trip with Jim.  The old memories came back and I don't want them to go away, so I've decided to make room for them.  Maybe I'll just get rid of some of the newer things I don't really need.  All this heavy-lifting thinking reminded me of what my mother has always told me, "You should never get above your raising."  I'm taking it as my tagline for the year and promise to take it more to heart than I have in the past.  How many times have you found yourself in a heap of trouble only because you tried to live outside your means - financially or otherwise?  I'm saying, "you," but I know it's me.  I know that's exactly what got me into hot water more than once.  It was a hard lesson to learn, especially growing up when you found that one (or more) of your friends had more than you did - whatever it was.  Strangely enough, Mother's words encouraged me to dive into my own mental tool kit and work with the creativity God gave me.  Sure, I may not have had the money to buy all the "necessary" bling, or the means to go to the moon on a whim, or the physical strength of Superman (not to mention the power to talk with dolphins like Aquaman -the greatest superhero in the League of Justice, or any other league for that matter - but that's a different blog all together), but having those restrictions and accepting them nourished my creative mind.  They gave me the energy and wherewithall to travel down the paths for my drawing and writing.  Anything was and is possible in my mind (or your mind, for that matter).  And they lead me to my love of reading - where I could escape from the daily grind and bounds of reality.

I'm afraid that this past year, I lost some ground with my creative mind by giving up time to watching some mindless television.  Even turning it on for background noise sucked out some of my creativity.  I could have been reading, walking, writing, hanging with friends, creating - even cutting up more of my old boxers into 2" squares for my quilt project (yet another blog story to tell later - I must make a list!!).  All of this rambling does come to a point.  This year, 2011, is a year within my means - and it's off to a good start.  I spent the past few days organizing and clearing some clutter.  I have some more clutter to go, but I'm on my way and dedicated to continuing this path.  I'm even considering a bigger jumpstart and cancelling my cable television all together - just go with the free airwaves.  I'll keep my internet so I can continue my blog and catch any of the television worth it online.  But it will give me back some of the time that I would lose to just random mindless watching.  It would give me more time to read, write letters & in my journals, explore my world, meet new people, enjoy my family & friends, volunteer and be more present in my community and my own life.  I've enjoyed writing more on my blog - even if only getting my thoughts out of my head and into the discussion, no matter how many people read it (and if you are reading, please feel free to comment or follow!).  So I'll continue this blog and come back to the ideas that just popped up and hopefully have a good years of means ahead of me.

Resolutions

For way too many years to count, I used to spend New Year's Day writing down all the resolutions that I wanted to tackle that year.  I approached the list with all serious intent only to lose the list or even change the goals only a few weeks into the year.  To start 2011, I decided to take a day off and spent the first day of this year just being comfortable with myself.  I did a mental inventory of where I began 2010 and where I was beginning 2011.  I've made some progress, so I am generally happy with what I accomplished this past year.  I decided not to make my list of concrete resolutions that would soon go to the wayside; but instead, I wanted to give myself some general guidelines to follow for this year.  I've talked before about my great grandmother's saying that God don't like ugly.  And I've always heard from my parents about always leaving things better than before you arrived.  Or that saying from a few years back, about paying it forward - or to borrow MSNBC's new tag line, "lean forward."  Those things sort of sum up what I'm thinking.  But I must admit that today I got some real inspiration reading Melonious Thunk, my friend Melony's blog,  She has some similar thoughts about having a guiding principle rather than set resolutions to follow during the year.  Her idea is to do what is "right and good" in any situation.  I think that's a great idea.  So, guess what?  That's what I'm going to strive for this year as well.

Moving forward

I sit down for a quick note today as I allow the cornbread to cool and let the black-eyed peas and greens simmer a bit more.  Dad just called to let me know he was pleased to see my Facebook status update from the other day about the Finley mine disaster and to wish me a happy new year.  It's a great way to start this year.  I am so blessed to have been born into the family I have.  I never knew that the Leslie County mine explosion forty years ago that took 38 lives gave my father a brush with national exposure.  Evidently, they were a customer of Austin Powder and he went to visit the site the day after the explosion.  The national media caught him on camera and the bosses in Cleveland saw it and called to let him know they saw him on the television.  I enjoy these times when I get a glimpse into my history.  Moments like these keep me grounded, so that I can build on a strong foundation.