WW news

My WW (Weight watchers) meeting is over for the week. Halloween and its pitfalls was a subject. The over reaching problem, of course, is getting throught the "eating" holidays ahead.
I still haven't decided what to do about trick or treat. I planned just to put a basket of candy on the porch and let the kids help themselves. My husband pointed out that every time someone comes to the door, the dog will go crazy. I haven't bought any candy yet. I will be teaching tomorrow, so I won't be available to answer the door and admire the costumes. Maybe I should just ignore it and leave the light off. That would be the easiest solution. No candy, no barking, no cute kids in costumes. So, what should I do?
I am still a loser, but not the biggest one. My loss this week was 1.2 pounds for a total of 18.2.

A Cold Day in Glencoe

Today was my last day of fall programs at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I assumed that since it had been raining all day and part of the night that we would be inside. No. We took the kids (4 classes of 3rd graders) out to the Dixon Prairie to do our prairie study. It was only about 40 degrees out there and windy. I know this for a fact because one activity is to take the air and soil temp. Since I thought I would be inside, I dressed accordingly. I was really cold. The kids were quite interested in the program and seemed to remember a lot when I reviewed it with them on the bus. Yes, we went back to the bus instead of reviewing onsite. I spoke with my son, who lives in Houston TX, where the temp is 87. I sure would like to have that weather here. I think that we are on the slow down slide to winter.

Rush--you should be ashamed of yourself.

The current controversial concerning Rush Limbaugh and Michael J. Fox has hit a sensitive nerve with me. My father died from the effects of Parkinson's Disease after suffering from it for many years . My Dad's struggle was very much like that of Pope John Paul II, and he died a few months later.
Parkinson's is a slow debilitating affliction. Since relatively few people suffer from it, it doesn't have the "popularity" of diseases like breast cancer or aids. There is no cure for Parkinson's, and only a few medications are available now that slow the disease down. If Rush Limbaugh knew anything about these medications, he would know that they do not work like aspirin. A person has to take them on a regular basis to get the effects. One or two days off the medication won't change the tremor--make it more or less pronounced. I find it hard to believe that a person would fake a tremor for political reasons. I also find it unbelievable that a person would chose to stop medication in order to suffer more tremors. There is nothing funny about losing control of your body like Parkinson's sufferers do. Rush Limbaugh shows his ignorance of Parkinsons when he believes that Fox made his disease look worse than it was when he made the commercial.
Another sad fact about the available medication for Parkinson's is that it loses its efficacy over time. Doses have to be increased when the tremor gets worse, and sometimes that doesn' work for long. As the disease progresses, the medication loses its power and the tremor increases. Sometimes a switch of medication may work, but there are only a few medications that make any difference. That is why research is so important. The fact the Michael J. Fox has made fighting Parkinson's his cause has increased the attention paid to this horrible disease. Stem cell research may provide a cure, or help develop better medications. It may not. But don't people who have this disease deserve the chance that a new treatment may be developed? Rush, keep your comments to politics. Leave the medical issues to the experts.
The following link has a lot of information about Parkinson's.
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/parkinsons_disease/detail_parkinsons_disease.htm

Politics Again

I just read an article in today's Chicago Tribune about incumbent Congressmen and the Colbert Report. I really don't watch the Colbert Report much, but from what I have seen, it seems to be an extension of the Daily Show, and just about as silly. For those of you who don't watch these shows, they appear on the Comedy Network at 10 amd 10:30 Central time. The point of the article was that Congressmen don't want to appear on the show because Colbert makes fools of them by asking questions that they don't want to answer, putting words into their mouths, or just plain embarrassing them. My question is don't any of these people check out the show before they agree to appear? Maybe they hear that the people who watch the show are the demographic that they want to reach, so they think that being on the show will make them more appealing to younger voters. I assume that incumbent congressmen have large staffs who manage their day to day affairs. Perhaps some of these staffers could check out the show, or even tape it for their boss, so he/she could see what they were in for if they appeared. The link to this story follows.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0610250046oct25,1,4542631.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed
This makes me think of a Daily Show which featured Rod Bolgojevich, the governor of Illinois. Normally, Blago is a very talkative guy, but when he appeared on Jon Stewart's show, he seemed tongue tied and had a deer in the headlights look on his face. He was being interviewed by one of the other comedians on the show. Now these guys ask the most ridiculous questions with the straightest faces around. Blago didn't see it coming. I read later that he thought he was appearing on a legitimate news show and that this was a serious interview.
Maybe this is why politicians are out of touch with the people they serve. They need to be watching more TV, and I don't mean the regular venues of CNN, Fox, CBS, etc.

Back at the gym

I went back to the gym today for the first time in over a week. On Tuesday I like to read the New York Times science section. As I rode the recumbant bike, I read the rest of the paper. On the editorial page, I found an article about the cost of the War in Iraq by Nicholas Kristof.
Having been a student and teacher of history, I am well aware of the strange and unplanned results of war. When the nations of Europe went into World War I, not a single person, especially the governmental leaders and crowned rulers expected that the results of that war would be an almost complete change of government in Europe, and an end of the multinational empires. The most surprising and unexpected result was the establishment of the Soviet Union under a communist government.
The results of this war in Iraq will be unenexpected and unplanned. One point that Kristof makes is that the war costs American taxpayers $6,300 a second, or about $6,600 per each American man, woman and child. His point is that the money could be better spend here in the USA, perhaps on social security, health care and other worthwhile efforts. We already are experiencing the unplanned results--the rise of sectarian violence and an increase in terrorist activity in Iraq and the middle east. Who knows what the long term results will be. All I know from my knowledge of the past is that they will be something that no one expected or planned for. To read the complete essay, I have included a link for you. "Iraq and Your Wallet" http://nytimes.com

I'm the Biggest Loser

Yes, that's right. I am the biggest loser and I have the trophy to prove it. Today at my Weight Watcher's meeting, I recieved the trophy, which is a stuffed animal--a little monkey, which I can keep for the week. I lost another 3.2 pounds and am down 16 pounds. Only 2 more pounds until I reach my first goal. I am so proud of myself. I have no will power, especially for candy, chips, cheetos, anything sweet, salty or chrunchy. I would eat this stuff and then either rationalize or feel bad when I did it. So far, I haven't fallen into that trap. The one thing that I didn't do enough of this week is exercise. I hope that doesn't catch up with me.
I must look a little different, but since I usually wear sweatshirts and pajama bottoms around the house, I don't see much of a difference.

Did I tell you how much I hate negative ads?

Again I have to listen to negative political advertisements for candidates that I can't even vote for or against. Why do I have to listen to this junk? I have read that negative ads are very effective. I am hoping that people get so sick of watching this mess that the ads backfire. It would make me happy to see all the money spent by the Republican National Committee go to waste. I am so sick of the Karl Rove school of dirty tricks and negativity.
I watched the political shows this morning and they were predicting a big win by Democrats. Maybe other Americans are sick of this stuff too. I sure am.

Garage Sale Day and a few other odds and ends.

Today I helped my friend Susie with her garage sale. She has been planning this for at least a month, but hadn't firmed up the date. So when she called me, I couldn't say no, since I had already said yes a few weeks ago.
So, I arrived and the customers started to come in and didn't let up for hours. She had a lot of nice clothing, mostly belonging to her daughters, who are very fashionable. Many of the clothes and shoes were almost new, and very, very gently worn. Needless to say, they just flew out of there. It was cold today, so I kept my self warm by folding and rearranging the clothes. I have to say that it was one of the nicest looking garage sales I have ever attended. As the merchandise was sold, we kept folding and rearranging, so by the afternoon, it looked like the Gap or Nordstroms.
Even though I have a houseful of stuff, I left with more stuff. I bought a lot of silk scarves, a small red Coach clutch purse, a down comforter and a new dust ruffle . I was planning to buy a new one, because the one I have is ripping apart, and suddenly I realized that Susie's was the right color and size. I also was about ready to replace our blanket. So, now I have a down comforter. So, this was a very sucessful day. It was also fun to hang out with Susie and her friend Ann.
I was so cold. It was a cold October day. I came home with a red face--it couldn't be sunburn, since I spent the day in a garage, so it had to be windburn. My wonderful husband decided to take me out to dinner. We went to Boston Blackies, where I had a good dinner of shrimp cocktail and a garbage salad (no dressing) so it was compatible with Weight Watchers. I haven't been to the gym all week, so I was worried about my weight. I think that I will be ok.
One last thing--I was offered another job today. I just took the job at my old school district yesterday, and today the tutoring service that runs the after school program at Gale School called offered my a job in their after school program. To bad, I liked working there two years ago. Well, I will keep that door open a crack, maybe for next year.

A Few Changes

I have DSL now. The package arrived yesterday and my husband rushed to install it, and now it is operational. It is very fast. What a treat.
I have another change. I have another job. I am still teaching a Oakton, but now I have an additional job. I will be working at my old school district as a mentoring coach for new teachers. The district has a grant from Loyola University to set up a mentoring program. The mentors are teachers, my role is to coach the mentors--not all the mentors, just the middle school ones. It is a part time job with a lot of meetings. I met with the coordinator this morning and she gave me about 8 pounds of books to read. I am so happy that I have my Oakton class under controll. All that work I did earlier to set up my class has paid off, so now I have time for this new job. I am looking forward to this new job--I have always been interested in working with new teachers.

Is this Indian Summer?

When I was young, the Chicago Tribune published a political cartoon on its front page called "Injun Summer." The appearance of the cartoon seemed to coincide with a spell of warm weather in October. The paper doesn't publish it on the front page anymore, but sometimes it appears in their magazine. I had a copy of the cartoon in my classroom for several years, but I don't know whatever happened to it.

Today feels like Indian Summer. The official definition is a warm spell after the first hard frost. We had the hard frost last week, at least officially. I'm not sure that we have had it on the North Shore yet. Today is warm. I have the patio doors open and the warm breezes are blowing in.

I'm getting sick of the negative political commercials on TV. We had two hot contests for Congress in the area, now our district is in play too. I once taught a unit on propaganda in my social studies class. I used political commercials for material to analyze. We learned all the commonly used techniques, and lo and behold, the commercials used almost every one. Just remember, propaganda always has a large amount of truth, but the way the truth is presented or twisted is what makes the propaganda. There is only a tiny bit of falsehood involved. I have read that negative commercials are effective, but after you have seen the same commercial about 50 times, sometimes 3-5 times an hour, I doubt their impact. However, there is another belief: if you hear a lie over and over again, people begin to believe it.
Our races in Illinois must be close, because the Republican National Committee is sponsoring several commercials now. November 7th can't come soon enough.

Shopping Again

I went shopping again today. I was having lunch with my friends today, so I fit a short trip to Macy's before I met them. I needed some skirts to wear with my new, fashionable boots. I went to Carson's yesterday because they had a huge sale. It was huge and junky. Nothing that I wanted to buy. So I tried Macy's today because they had a sale too. A much better sale and not junky. I found a few things--a scarf that looks like it was hand knit and some skirts.
I also need clothes because some of my old clothes are getting loose. This includes some that I bought recently. I may be down a size.
Some people around here have a problem with Macy's--or the former Marshall Field's. They are still angry about the name change and do not plan to ever shop there again. Not me. I don't think that Field's was such a great store. They deserved getting sold. I think that there is much nicer merchandise there now and the Old Orchard store looks much better. They put in new and better fitting rooms, still not as nice as some other places, like Forth and Towne or Talbot's, but better than they had before. So Macy's has my money. And I plan to continue shopping there.

Fall is back.

The snowstorm is over, the snow is melted. Who knows what weather the next few hours will hold.

It's Snowing!

Yes, it's the 12th of October and the snow is coming down. So far nothing is sticking on the patio, but my little birdhouse, the glass tables and patio chairs are getting covered rather quickly. The aborvitaes look very wintery. The yard looks like it is dusted with powdered sugar. I hope that this is a little snow shower. The forecast is for a cold night, and slowing warming tomorrow.
Today I decided to stay home and vacumn instead of going to the gym. So far, I'm doing computer things, and haven't even started to clean. We are being tough and haven't turned on the heat yet. I am wearing a sweatshirt, and am a little chilly. Vacumning will warm me up for sure. So, I am getting to it in a minute.
I am so happy, I have inspired an old friend to go back to Weight Watchers. I am doing so well on the program, but I'm still worried about maintaing my enthusiasiam. I know that losing over 50 pounds will take me a long time, probably at least 6-8 months. Once I have lost it, I won't be able to go back to my old bad habits. What I'm eating now is it.

Columbus Day.

I am still a loser. Today at my Weight Watchers meeting, I lost another 3.2 pounds. So my total is 11 pounds. Now I am more or less where I was before I went on the cruise. I am still proud of myself. I have only 9 more pounds to go to get to my first goal.
The weather was just lovely today, so I decided to finish up preparing my plants for their winter indoors. I sprayed them down with water and dish soap. Then I used some insecticidal soap. All are now in the house. The weather is headed for a big change later in the week. Thus the hurry with the plants. I don't want to be moving them around in the cold rain. Actually, snow may be in the forecast too.
The Botanic Garden was so crowded today. I went there for a volunteer meeting and tour of the revamped greenhouses. The new Regenstein Education center is just spectatcular. If you have a chance, go to see it soon. There was a Country Living esposition there too, so the parking lots were full. People wanted to enjoy the weather, some wanted to shop in the tents they set up. I decided to get the car washed on the way home. That was my Columbus Day.

My class update

My teaching is going well, at least on the instruction end. I feel in control of my lessons, grading and computer time.
My concern is that some of the students don't seem very motivated. I think that I am giving good lessons which involve them, but they don' t do the homework and don't study for the quizzes. Their averages are terrible. Several of them come late and leave early (not necessarily the same ones) I am keeping track of this, and it will affect their grades. This week I gave them a blank weekly schedule which lists the day hour by hour. My hope is that they will be able to carve out one hour a day to study for this class. Our textbook stated that a person needs to study 2 hours for each hour spent in class. My class is a four hour class--thus 8 eight hours a week is needed for study. I wish I had known this when I was in college. I will settle for one hour a day--7 hours a week.
I am thinking of giving them a midterm progress report, listing their quiz average, their attendance, their homework average and their computer average. This seems very junior high to me, but I think some of them need to see the consequences of their actions. I don't think that they realize the consequences of failing this class--having to repeat it, and not being able to take any higher level classes. I think that part of the problem is that several of them have not ever been sucessful at school, and suffer from a lack of study skills. College is late to be learning these lessons, but it can be done. Another factor is immaturity. I don't think that many of them see the long term goal at all. But after all of this, I still like the job and think that I can make a difference in their lives.

I'm a Loser!

Yes, that's right. I'm a loser again. I went to the Weight Watchers meeting yesterday and surprisingly I lost another 2.4 pounds. That makes a total of 8 pounds since I began the program. I was very concerned about the party I attended on Sat. but I made it without gaining any weight. I ate only one of everything, which was easy, since the menu was a series of small hors d'oeurves. I even ate the rich ones. I had two glasses of wine which are allowed. My friend, the hostess gave everyone a little favor bag of candy, and since we were late to leave, she gave us several. I ate one bag, which had two candies, and good ones at that. I gave all the other bags to my mother. The party was lovely, the restaurant was very nice and decorated like a home. All the cooking aparatus was out--the stoves, frig, etc. Interesting concept.
I took pictures since I gave the bride to be a photo album as a gift. I was quite pleased that the pictures came out very well. I am not very experienced with a digital camera, so I was even happier with my results. I edited them and had prints made a Walgreen's. My husband took a few pictures, including a nice one of me which I will include on today's blog.