100 years ago

One of Lenny's favorite things to ponder is "what was it like 100 years ago"? He is always asking that about all kinds of places, things and people even. We can be at Disneyland and he will say, "100 years ago this was all orange fields." or in France, "What was it like to walk the streets of Paris?" Even in our own neighborhood he might contemplate what the now-major streets were like when they were just dirt or even a field.

Most of the times I just (forgive me) roll my eyes and tune it out. Sorry to disappoint you that I am not the perfect wife.

BUT today is a different day. I was perusing our city's little local newspaper and much to my surprise, I found a piece entitled "The Year 1908." I immediately ripped it out and thought to post it. Very interesting and kind of comical. Here it is:

The Year 1908

What a difference a century makes! Here are some statistics for the year 1908:

• The average life expectancy was 47 years.
• Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
• There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved road.
• The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 miles per hour.
• The tallest structure was the Eiffel Tower.
• The average wage was 22 cents per hour.
• The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.
• More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.
• 90 percent of all doctors had no college education.
• Eggs were 14 cents a dozen.
• Coffee was 15 cents a pound.
• Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used
• Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
• Two out of every ten adults couldn't read or write.
• Five leading causes of death were: Pneumonia and Influenza, TB, Diarrhea, Heart Disease and Stroke.
• The American flag had 45 stars.
• Crossword puzzles, canned beer and iced tea had not yet been invented.
• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Eighteen percent of all households had at least one fulltime servant or domestic help.
• There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.A.

Pet Store

Sarah's class does not have a class pet. But her teacher has a sweet little stuffed bear named Baxter that goes home with a different student each evening. Their homework is to take Baxter and help him journal about his evening at each home. Sarah had a ball with this little guy. He even came with his own sleeping bag, pj's and a backpack.

Having Baxter around was a piece of cake... compared to what was to come.

For more than a year now, Sarah has been asking for a hamster. We have had every intention of getting her one. We just had not done it. You know, things happen, we keep putting it off, etc.


Last week at school I saw a flyer for a Guinea pig up for adoption. It is from the home of a classmate of Jacob's. The poor boy is highly allergic to all things furry. The family thought it would best to find a new home. I called his mother, got the furball and brought it home.
Sarah named her Jenny. Jenny the Guinea.


It is so cute and so sweet and really fun to play with. The problem is that now my house seriously smells like Petsmart. You know that smell that hits you when you walk in, that unmistakable animal smell. Come to our house. You'll see what I mean. I don't think it is the piggie. I think it is the bedding and food. It NAUSEATES me.


On another note, Jack the wiener dog is out of his mind crazy to get at this animal. He is beside himself with hunting, sniffing, capturing and claiming victory over the small little thing. He reminds me of a male dog that knows a female is in heat just on the other side of the fence. He howls, whines and barks for this thing. For tonight, her cage is on top of the washer. Jack knows it and is nuts about it.

It is going to be a feat to keep these two apart.

Next animal - a turtle!

Soy Latte

I went to Starbucks the other morning to get a latte just before working in Sarah's class. I had offered to bring her teacher something also. While I am ordering her drink, I have uncontrollable giggles. Now this is not going to be funny at all to any of you who do understand Spanish.

She asked me to get her a Soy Latte. To me, "soy" ALWAYS translates to "I am" in Spanish. I never ever think of soy beans, soy milk, soy anything. I always think the Spanish translation first. Habit I suppose.

I am ordering her drink and I can not say the words. Her drink in Spanish means "I am hot milk" in English. It is a pretty good possibility that the barista in green had no clue what came over me. But me, it cracked me up.

Ok, go on to your life. This post was stupid I know.

Out of the Mouths of Middle Schoolers

Today in class we were learning seasons, months and holidays. As I said the name of each month, I had each student stand when it was his/her birthday month. When April came, I stood up. They asked me how old I was going to be. I cringed when I said, "cuarenta."

A few seconds later I see these two boys who usually act up and talk during class whispering. I ask them what they are talking about.

C: "He says that 40 is the new 20." and points to his neighbor E.

I ooh and ahh and thank him for that. Then,

E: " And I told him that all adults turning 40 say that."

Is that hysterical???

Then after class, a sweet little 6th grader comes up to me and says, "I can see your underwear lines." Aaaarrrrrggghhhhhhhhhhh.

I Can See Russia From My House

People, if you have not seen the Saturday Night Live skit with Tina Fey as Sarah Palin - OH MY GOSH you are missing out.

I laughed so hard that I think I may have split my side open. Tina Fey is a dead ringer for Sarah Palin.

Funny. So stinkin' funny. Oh my it is funny. Check it out. NBC.com

Starting School and Soccer Season Simultaneously

September is always exciting. I love the beginning of the school year. A fresh start, a new year, lots of opportunities awaiting us. Even when we homeschooled, the beginning of the year was anticipado mucho.

Along with September and school beginning, so does soccer and the horrendous scheduling of that sport. I love watching my kids play and they do well at it. But wow, does it take a lot of hustle and bustle on our part to get them to the practices, the games, getting homework done in between and oh, eating dinner.

I am excited about both school and soccer this year. Jacob and Sarah both have absolutely incredible teachers who seem to be quite in tune with their respective age group of kids. Lenny and I were both floored when we drove home from Back-to-School night. God has truly put his hand on this year. I am anticipating wonderful progress, not only academically, but spiritually and socially.

And, the icing on the cake is soccer. Both kids have coaches that know the game well and again, seem to relate very well with their respective teams. Jacob's coach especially is a force to be reckoned with. I am confident that he too will grow much this year.

Do you know how to ...?

I can not figure something out. If you can help me, please email me.

I type a documents and save it in Word. Sometimes it may be several pages long but I want to email just one of those pages, not the entire document.

Does anyone know how to attach a file to an email of just one page of a document without having to send the entire 5 page doc over?

Make sense???

Do you remember?

September 11, 2001



I was sleeping soundly when my husband plopped down on the bed. He shook my shoulder and my arm saying to "wake up Donna, something has happened." I was yawning, fighting the urge to roll over and ignore him. Whatever it was, I thought, he could handle it.



"A plane has crashed into the World Trade Center earlier this morning. Then another plane crashed into the second tower. WAKE UP."



I jumped out of the bed and we turned the TV on to see what was happening. All of the sleepy thoughts I had just 30 seconds earlier were shattered as soon as the picture came into focus. Smoke screaming out of the WTC towers. Holy smokes, what was happening???



I remember feeling an enveloping sense of fear. A fear of uncertainty, of unknowing. A dread that this could not have been an accident. The first plane, maybe, but the second - NO WAY. Then to hear that the Pentagon had been hit, then eventually the plane in Shanksville, PA had gone down. I knew that someone was out to get us.



Lord, please help us I remember pleading.



My father had been visiting us from Alabama. He was out late the night before and had slept in. I remember knocking on his door, yelling for him to get up and come see what was happening. He watched in silence at what he saw, unable to find words to express what was in his mind.



Then we sat STUNNED as we watched the first down collapse, then the second. OH MY GOSH. It was as if some had stabbed us, then decided to twist the knife deep inside.



It was unbelieveable.


We spent most of that day watching the news. It was announced that all aircraft were to be grounded. Nothing was to be in the airspace over the United States of America. That had never happened before. Later that morning, we went out for a late breakfast. The restaurant that we dined at had an outdoor patio. While sitting out there, a helicopter flew right over us. The light chatter that had been filling the patio stopped immediately and a sense of danger took over. As soon as we all realized it was a military helicopter, we all let out a sigh of relief.



Things that were normal 4 hours earlier, now were different.



Life is different now. This is post 9/11. We mark time now sometimes with that date in mind.



MANY fireman and police officers lost their lives that day. Many families said good bye to their mommies and daddies that morning for the last time. Friendships were forever fractured and families for always were fragmented.



God bless everyone who jumped in to save what was crumbling. God bless the families who have had to learn to live without their loved ones.



God bless the City of New York, the State of New York, Washington, D.C. and God PLEASE bless the United States of America.

This might get me fired!

I have been teaching for a total of 4 days now and already I believe that I have the makings of an ongoing list of incomprehensible things that I have said or done. Each of these days, I have done something that quite possibly could be taken the wrong way. Now, in all honesty, if it were my child in the classroom and he came home telling me tales of what the teacher said, I would probably laugh. But then again, I am crazy that way.

I believe my list shall be titled "This Might Get Me Fired."

Today, while taking roll, I heard one of the boys laughing. I knew it didn't have anything to do with me, but in the spirit of razzing him, I said, "Are you making fun of me?" He quickly replied that no, he wasn't making fun of me because he loves me. Now I KNEW that he meant it in an endearing way, not creepy or anything like that. BUT..... I replied,

"Oh (student), I am sorry. I am married. It would never work between us."

And the entire class fell over laughing at this one.

Then later, another student asks to use the restroom. I reply, "Number one or two?" and look at him with every ounce of seriousness that I can muster. He quizzically stares then replies "Uh, number one."

"Ok then you may go."

WHAT WAS I THINKING?????????

Remember Me???

I am sitting here on my bed with my new laptop computer (thank you Lover). I have been playing Chess Titans online while propped up with pillows. I love this. Jacob and I have been surfing the net while all cozy under the covers. This is new for us. We are used to having to fight to use the ONE and ONLY computer at the desk.

So I have been away from Blogville for the month of August. We have had a very fun and exciting summer, August being the pinnacle of summer fun - Disneyland, Sea World, spending time at the beach, Soak City, and lots more. I haven't had time to blog. Too much fun going on.

Oh, and I started a new job. I am teaching Middle School Spanish right now. I have a darling set of 8th graders who just make me laugh my head off. And I teach an Intro class to 6th and 7th graders. The 6th graders just stare at me still trying to believe that they are in middle school with this crazy new schedule. The 7th graders, well, they are just glad that they aren't on the bottom of the food chain anymore.

Jacob and Sarah both started school and LOVE their classes and teachers. I love them too. Both of them are committed to the kids and seem to really love the Lord! Yeeee haw!!!!!!!!

Falling asleep. Must turn computer off!

Good Night!