Living on the Edge

Quote for Today

Here's a quote from an old, classic philosopher...

“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.”
                                 —Plato (427BC-347BC), Classical Greek philosopher

Quote for Today

Here's a great quote to share with the kids when they have what seems like an impenetrable hurdle in their life.

“Still round the corner there may wait, A new road or a secret gate. ” 
—J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973), scholar, fantasy novelist

And it's by Tolkien....someone the kids may even know.  By the way...did you catch his birth year?  Wow! I didn't know he was born before 1900!  What an imagination for someone who had never seen the wild things our world now holds for our children.   Goes to show you how important it is to foster playing outside and imagination in our children!  And reading some great books too!  This summer's task...writing.  Something they don't do near enough in school!

Quote to start your Sunday

I liked this one...it kind of describes the past week of my life!

“Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find that you have crossed the mountain.” 
           —Unknown Author

Quote for Thursday

“The greatest power is often simple patience.”
—E. Joseph Cossman (b. 1918), author

I think it is about time for a good recipe and some kid pictures...

This Week's Quote:

Dad, during a breakfast conversation:  "Mrs. Butterworths is the best kind of syrup."

9 year old CC:  "Really?  I like chocolate syrup."

I wouldn't put it past her sometime to poor it on her pancakes!  Hmm...I will have to watch her a bit closer now!

Friday Quote

“The difference between try and triumph is a little umph. ”
—Anonymous

Wow...the week has just flown by! I've spent much of my free time researching all this primary/caucus stuff.  I will be sharing some of my education with you this weekend. I've been busy teaching all week...I actually need to head to school right now...so have a great Friday!

Mark Twain's wisdom

“ Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ”

- Mark Twain [Samuel Clemens] (1835-1910),
  humorist, essayist, novelist

You are so right Mark!!  I was just thinking about this the other day. There's actually only one thing that I wish I could have done differently when I look back on my life so far....I wish I had known the power of putting money into some sort of retirement account early in my life!  I'd be wealthy at this point if I had started at 20 instead of 32!!  We will be teaching our daughters the value of this for sure!

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans get me started

“ You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jelly beans. ”

- Ronald Reagan (1911-2004),
   40th U.S. President

I love this quote.  Do you know the history of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans?  It's very cool.  A real success story for a family that immigrated to the United States in the 1860's.  Their big boost to fame of course was Ronald Reagan. They even added a flavor, blueberry, when he was president so that he could have a red, white, and blue mix on Air Force One.  Isn't that a kick?

Reading the history about why Jelly Beans became more popular than chocolate in the 1930's got me thinking....Chocolate was very popular, but Americans found that they couldn't buy it.  During World War II there was a chocolate shortage because most of the chocolate available was sent to the troops fighting overseas! 

Now that's an interesting concept that Americans don't know today...doing without comfort items here at home while our troops are serving overseas.  If you don't have a friend or relative serving or you don't watch t.v. or read a paper (and there are a number of people who fit into each of these categories!) you really wouldn't know that we were involved in a war. 

During World War II many of our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents did things such as grow Victory Gardens in their yards so there would be fresh vegetables and fruits on the table, women went to work in factories doing jobs that traditionally only men did, and luxury items were just that...items like nylons (silk stockings back then), fresh oranges, and chocolate were a rare and expensive treat.

Other than the fact that gas prices are making the prices of everything go up, our lives are 'normal'. If we need, or more importantly want something, we can just buy it in a store, on our computers at home, by phone through one of the 6 million catalogs sent to our mailbox, or bid on it on Ebay. 

So as you make all your Christmas purchases to fill the space under your tree or to send to other family members this year, consider supporting our troops with a card or care package or donate to some great organizations that are already doing it.  My girls just sent their third package to their Uncle Tom in Iraq.  It's really easy with the post office Flat Rate boxes.  Just pick one up at the post office, head over to Rite Aid, fill it up with fun and essential things to make their lives more bearable so far from home, then it only costs $8.95 to send it! 

Here are some sites where you can donate or find information on sending a package to a soldier yourself.

www.supportyourtroops.us

www.americasupportsyou.mil

www.herohugs.org  (this was started by a young girl!)

www.asoldierswishlist.org

Don't you love the way a mind works?  I started with Jelly Bellies and well....just moved on from there! If you go to the website for Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, check out the art page!  This eagle portrait was made completely with jelly beans!

Quote for Today

Here's a great quote to start the Monday Morning Madness!  (Oh, waking up early after a week off...groan, moan!)

“To do more for the world than the world does for you - that is success.”

- Henry Ford (1863-1947),
inventor, founder of Ford Motor Company