My Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving Day has always been one of my favorite holidays to celebrate. When I was young, my mother would have the tradition of spreading out a quilt in front of the television set for me and my brother and sister to sit and watch the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade. We would get a vegetable tray with dip, pretzels, chex-mix, and potato chips. It was also the only time we would get to drink soda for breakfast. It could have just been a way for mom to get us out of her hair, but we had a great time. Now, I continued the tradition with my children. I run in and out of the kitchen trying to watch the parade while I'm cooking. My older children bring over the grandkids and we watch it together. Everyone in my family likes this tradition and I think they will continue to do it for a long time. I'm truly thankful for my small family, they are all that matters to me. God willing we will be together this year.

Gaunt to Gargantuan and Back- Response to Article

"Gaunt to Gargantuan and Back: The Atkins Method of Acting" was written by Caryn James in 2004 and nothing has changed since then regarding weight loss and gain. As long as the public keeps buying into these movies, Hollywood will keep endorsing this extreme method of acting.
Losing weight or gaining it for a movie part is going to continue to be a popular trend for actors and actresses. I think they will do it because if they don't, the movie role will be given to someone else. This sends the wrong message to young people who looks up to these movie stars. They don't realize that these actors have professional help to oversee their diets and health. I also think it's wrong that young women are hurt the most by this false image of perfection dished out by TV, magazines, and movies. In real life none of us is perfect. Families that support and love one another perpetuate a good sense of self-esteem. That's worth far more than looking like you just stepped off a movie set. I wish that these movie stars would be more sensitive to this subject and take some responsibility in speaking up about how extreme dieting can hurt or even kill you when not done with a doctor helping.

Holloween Weekend

This was a good weekend spent with family. I went over to my daughter's house for a birthday party. My granddaughter was born on October 31 and turned two years old. After she opened her presents we took the kids around the block "Trick or Treating". It felt so cold out that we didn't stay out as long as we usually do on Holloween. The kids got plenty of candy for being out for such a short time. When we got back in the house we had cake. I've had my fill of sweets this weekend to last me a long time. It was great to see the kids in their costumes and having fun. I left early to get back home to drop off my youngest daughter over her friends house for a few hours. The rest of my evening was spent doing homework. I was still working on getting it done when she called me to pick her up at 11:30 pm.

Did You Know?

Wow! The speed of the images flashing by represent what this U Tube video is about. A statement made in the video was that we are living in "exponential" time. The only time I heard the word exponential used was in a physics class, what a comparison that is. The music used to accompany the video was fast paced and had a sense of urgency about it. There's no verbal narration in the video, facts are printed out real large and were in short phrases. I was surprised at some of the facts presented, and sad. One of the facts that surprised me was that the English language has more words than in the time of William Shakespeare, and in China they speak more English than I thought.
It ends with a question for the viewer to answer, "What does it all mean?" One of the answers the video offers is that technology is what pushes civilization in these directions. I believe it's true, because we can get in touch with someone on the other side of the world in an instant. In 1992 the first e-mail was sent. That's the year my daughter was born 17 years ago. Only 17 short years we have come so far with personal home computer use. I like the advancement of technology, but I don't like that I have to have it. It's not just a convenience anymore, it's become a necessity. I couldn't do my homework without the use of a computer.
It makes me sad that we have to have all this technology to get by. There has to be a balance of what is important to people, and to take the time to smell the roses. I'm flexable enough to appreciate progress, but I hope people remember that technology is only a means to the end. Go for a walk without a cell phone, and talk to your kids or friends while you do.