March

Packsaddle Cave Trail

Our next stop on our Christmas Calendar was the Packsaddle Cave Trail

This is a 6.4 mile out and back trail, traversing streams, mountains, and loose rock. To date, this just might be my favorite hike. We were able to take our time playing in the stream, telling each other silly stories as to why that one tree fell right across the path, and of course explore the cave itself. 

Once inside, we were greeted by this lovely painting on the wall. Now that gave us plenty of material for scary stories! Whoever did it might have wanted to frighten people, but it gave our family an opportunity to bond over the craziness of it.

As we left the cave we saw the light at the end of the tunnel so to speak! The haze is all the dust floating around. Next time we'll bring bandannas to cover our noses, but this time we were having to much fun to care about it.

February

February brought us to Disneyland and California Adventure. Going to the happiest place on earth for a family of five means planing ahead! Luckily it always pays off. Disneyland itself was just as magical this time as it's been every other time with one difference: our youngest was able to ride Space Mountain! Whirling through the vortex of stars and feeling the wind through your hair was just enough of a rush for him to pronounce it as the best ride ever... even with tears streaming down his cheeks. While he enjoyed most of the ride he was not a fan of it being nearly pitch black and was glad Dad was by his side. 

Okay, being a SoCal native means I've been lucky enough to enjoy the SoCal discount at Disneyland for years. I've eaten in the park a number of times and normally go directly to the Golden Horseshoe for my mid-day meal. However on this trip, mid-day found us in California Adventure and not wanting to back track we decided to stay in Cars Land and give Flo's V8 Cafe a run for it's money. Hands down, that was the best meal I've had in the park. I'd even venture to say it was better than Goofy's Kitchen. Next trip, we're going back to Flo's!

We still spent more time in Disneyland proper than in California Adventure but as the kids are getting older, the Tower of Terror screams sound less and less scary. I'm sure we'll be transitioning to California Adventure more and more in trips to come.

January

As 2014 started I made a vow to have more adventures this year, whether its just a day adventure or a true exploration, I'm taking charge this year. And so it begins...
We kicked off the year of travel with Legoland in Carlsbad, CA. While it was very fun and worth the trip, we found the 7 hours the park was open to be just enough time to see all that we wanted to see. As a family we explored our first roller coasters as finally everyone is at the minimum height limit! We built Lego racers and explored the mini world of Lego Star Wars (yes this is where we spend nearly an hour). It was fun, it was exciting, it was the perfect start.
Our adventure continued the next day with whale watching. We sailed with Newport Whales (http://www.newportwhales.com/) and found our captain to be friendly and entertaining. Of course it helped that we did find whales on our outing also! We found a mama and her calf swimming fairly close together and a bunch of sea lions hanging out on a buoy. All in all it was a great day!

Much of our last hour was spent exploring Miniland USA with more time in the Star Wars area than any other. The builders truly did a fantastic job!

This triceratops jump started my imagination for the day, another great build. 

Our vessel for the day's adventure 

You can barely see the whale at about 2 seconds in. Unfortunately we didn't get any great photos or video's of them as we were in such awe we didn't think about it until we were nearly done with our encounter.

This apparently, is the hang out spot for a sea lion.

Life Choices

I always tell my kids life is about the choices you make and how you handle the choices others make for you. That you can't control others, only yourself. Its important they know to always take 100% responsibility for their part in their relationships with others so if something negative comes out of it they'll know they tried their best. I want them to learn this hard truth years before I did, I want to save them the trouble of learning how to take ownership. With any luck it will click with them before it did for me, though I recognize they are on their own path of self discovery and that inherently will mean a path uniquely theirs. However there are still times I find myself angry over someone else's choice. Angry enough that I just want to shake them. I know their experiences along their path to who they are today are different from my own, but non the less, angry I become. So how do you truly let go when you find yourself still angry? How do I practice what I preach?

The Christmas Calendar

This year for Christmas

You’re getting a very special treat

Something you’re Mom, Dad and I

Sure thought would be very neat

This Thing you are getting

Will be with you all the coming year

To build memories with

To hold so very near

This year you are getting,

A calendar of sorts

Trips you’ll be going on

And adventuring at the source

Some trips will be big

And some will be small

Some will need this bag

And some, none at all

So take a peek inside

Check out what lies ahead

While your imagination takes over

Allow the sights unseen to begin to fill your head

Merry Christmas,

St. Nicholas

Death As Your Friend

I, like many others, work in senior living. An industry and profession I find deeply satisfying. So death is a topic that is not uncommon in my workplace. It's even one that is regularly discussed on different levels. Another common topic is kids, everyone likes kids, our residents like kids or staff like kids, kids are a deemed safe topic. Which is perhaps why the reaction to a recent conversation seems so surprising to me. A group of us were talking about what we'd like to see our kids grow to be as adults, both professionally and personally. When the question was posed to me I answered anything other than in the healthcare field. Doctors and nurses have such a better understanding of the human body and such a needed understanding of it. It has to be painful for them when they see that there is no more they can do and the person they're assisting is going to die. Now imagine when they're at the end of life with their parents? I never want to see that helpless look in the eyes of my children. I always want there to be hope. Can a doctor have hope in their eyes when they medically know their parent is going to die and there is nothing they or anyone else can do to stop it?
My response silenced the group, one of the gals said she'd never thought of doctors that way before but perhaps that's because she isn't a parent yet? Doctors and nurses are people too, with families and lives outside of the office and there will be a day for each of us when we take that last breath. Hopefully I'll be surrounded by my family and loved ones and my children will be at peace with what is going on versus going through the medical steps of how my body is finally betraying me. Or perhaps if my children do go into the healthcare field being able to go through the final steps of death will help them? Death isn't scary, Death is a friend for life, it walks beside you every step of the way and then finally welcomes you home in the end.

Here's Your Sign: I'm Broken

The thing is, Divorce HURTS. I know that there are times when it's best. I know that it is going to be okay. But it still hurts. I wish there was a way to make parting easier, even when it's so necessary. I wish it didn't have to hurt so much. I wish people wouldn't ask if you were okay and that somehow you'd just be okay. I know I will. I know there is certainly life after this. I'm just tired of the hurt. I want to scream sometimes and can't. I hate faking okay. I wish I could go a little nuts and not have to worry about what would happen if I did. I wish I had the freedom to drive to the beach right this very second and breath. I am so tired of feeling so constricted. Life will turn around soon because it has to. It will make since soon because it will be behind me and then I will be able to see. Okay so maybe that doesn't make that much since but it does to me.

I'm screaming inside right now and nobody sees the pain. Which is the point I guess. Nobody really wants to see someone else fall apart do they? I guess I already kind of am.

Twilight, Love Story?

So I've finally read the first novel in the saga, Twilight. At first I wasn't impressed. It had all the makings of a good book but it wasn't packaged right, there was something missing, deepth missing. I realized later though that possibly what is missing is Me. It's a love story that is so basic I almost missed it. It is of two beings so in love so in need of each other they over come all to be together even when it may not be best for either of them. They still have the strength to move forward with their love.

So as I go to bed tonight thinking not of sugar plums but of Edward Cullen, I have to hand it to Stephanie Meyers for passing her story off on so many. Bravo!

Aerosmith

I heard on the radio today that Aerosmith is considering moving on without Steven Tyler. I don't get it, how can a band like Aerosmith think any of it's members are interchangeable? No way I say! All members stay. When you've been around as long as they have they don't get to make changes like that, JOE PERRY!!!! Aerosmith is Aerosmith, it wouldn't be it with some guy from Ohio feeling in for Tyler. It doesn't work that way. Try again please.

History Final

1. Dorothea Dix- 1802-1887- Dragon Dix was know for her saint like devotion to improving conditions for the deranged, though also for her strict run of Civil War hospitals. She spent between 20-30 years of her life campaigning for better treatment and conditions for the insane. She also ran a Civil War time hospital where she only took in nurses over 30 years of age and not looking for marriage. Fashion was not need or permitted in her hospitals and those in her care improved as her nursed fell in line with her thinking.

2. Frederick Douglass- 1818-1895- was a very popular lecturer on antislavery, and he rejected suggestions of dumbing himself up to be more believable. He escaped his slavery from Maryland in 1838 by disguising himself as a sailor and borrowed a seaman’s papers. He made it north were he would show what he was truly made of. Douglass had learned to read and write while a slave and he had master a trade as well all under the direct knowledge of his master. Douglass published the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845, which included his accounts of his life as a slave. His accounts worked, they showed that not all blacks were dumb and unable to be taught and learned people.

3. Clara Barton- 1821-1912- most know for founding the American Red Cross. Barton also opened a free public school. She is remembered in the text The American Nation simply as a nurse with a tale about a pregnant woman being wiped. She also helped notify families of missing during the Civil War.

4. The Freedman’s Bureau- put into action in 1865 as a means to assist the black man in his entry to equality. The bureau was made to ensure blacks were treated fairly and were receiving their new rights as free men. The bureau also issued clothes and medicines to those in need. Unfortunately the bureau failed to protect at the dead of night when blacks were being beaten or threatened the most. When complaints were issued to the bureau slaps on the hand were mostly issued and the offending party set free to repeat his offense.

5. Battle of Antietam- 9/17/1862- single most bloody day in the war and important due the location of Antietam, Maryland. This battle was the turning point in the war forcing General Robert E. Lee back down the Potomac.

6. First Battle of Bull Run- 4/12/1861- the first major battle of the war. The union nearly lost Washington D.C. to the Confederacy and would have if the south had acted faster after the win.

7. Remember the Alamo- the day Texas took a stand against Mexico for their independence. Also the battle in which Davy Crocket lost his life.

8. Dred Scott- a slave wanting freedom since his master had died while the Scotts where in a territory not yet defined as a slave region or not. The supreme court did not grant the Scotts their freedom.

9. John Brown- 1800-1859- extremist who dragged five unsuspecting men from their homes in the dead of night and killed them. Brown and his cronies escaped capture thought he went into hiding. The Scourge of Kansas tried to make himself a martyr at his death but only made himself into a song.

10. Ida B. Wells- 1862-1931- was an activist for equality.

Manifest Destiny reached it peak in the 19th century. The cause of this movement was of course American Pride. Though the founders of this idea wanted at first to spread through out the whole of North America, they were successful in spreading from coast to coast. The idea of manifest destiny is still current today on now we are spreading our ideas and not our force so much. The main consequence of this movement was it feed Americans with the theory that their way is the best way.
At first the idea of spreading out from coast to coast sounded fair. But why stop there when we could have the whole of North America. The idea was to concur Canada and Mexico. Then the capitol would be moved to Mexico City, which showed the brain stormers of this idea were really thinking more of the Americas and not just North America. This was just not to be so.
Today America forces other countries to adopt our ideas of democracy, even if that is not what the country wishes. We still use force to get our way and are still actively spreading our wills. Yes manifest destiny is still alive and well.

Edited for Content

There came a point last night when I realized I edit my life. There are things I don't say because they'd be too much. There are actions I don't take as they'd be too much. How different would I be if I didn't edit for content? Don't we all edit? Isn't that what our conscious is for?

I may sit and ponder all the things I don't say, all the actions I don't take but isn't that who I am just as much as the things I do say and the actions I do preform?

Do What I Say, Not What I do

Have you ever just wondered what the @@ck? I'm sure we all do. Mine is at TV vs Computers right now. I tell my kids all the time that TV is bad for them. They only get 30 per day of TV or they can watch 1 movie. They also only get 30 minutes of any digital game, ie Wii, DS, Diji, Leapster. I want them to PLAY to be active to ride their bikes to be Kids but yet I sit in front of this computer so much that I have to wear 'computer glasses' to help prevent the strain. I've also read women that use computers for work have a higher risk of reproductive problems, ie birth defects, miscarriages and general infertility. Yet here I sit, exposing myself to the radiation.

My point is this, shouldn't I practise what I preach? Shouldn't I get off my chair and go do something????

SATC 2

I am so READY for the new movie to come out!! I've recently finished re-watching the entire series and now I'm ready for all the Big/Carrie drama & all the Girl Drama. I'm ready to see what the writers have in store for us with Samantha. Dying for more Classic Charlotte moments & willing to take on Miranda one more time.

As I sat thinking about why it is I love this show so much I realized it's more about the escape than anything else. I mean who really takes a cab ride with all their girlfriends to discuss "up the butt"? And when you think about it, these ladies where ABLE to film that without laughing!! I love the writing, I love the characters, I love the acting. I love Sex and the City! I'm ready for fresh & new and familiar. Bring on the girls!

Grateful & Thankful

Sometimes we forget to say thanks. Thanks for being there, thanks for caring, thanks for just being you. We are who we are because of the people we allow in our lives and I've being meaning to say thank you to all of them.

Thank you to my Madre to with whom I wouldn't be me. For all you've done, for always being there, thank you. For never giving up on me even when you weren't sure how to lead me, thank you.

To my Ma-in-Laws both are wonderful and both are very similar (wonder what that means....) You may not notices how much I listen or how much I care about you but I do. Thank you for aways having patience even as I stumble. For not just shaking me but explaining why things maybe the way they are. Thank you for being you. & for my Spare Ma-in-Law... all I can say is WOW! I never realized how great you are. Thank you for being in my corner, even when you don't agree with me. I am so grateful to have you there.

To the one I call my sis-in-law. You are unique, you have often been my Jiminy Cricket & we both know it. I love you and am so glad God put someone so much like me, and yet so very different, in my life to shake me up when other won't ;-) Without you I'd surely be very different.

To my aunts & uncles, thank you for always letting me vent, for being that sounding board we all need.

To my Brother, thank you for showing me time and time again how NOT to do things!!! Btw I'm so very Proud of how you've turn out... things could have been so different.

To all my other family & friends, thank you for putting up with me. I have a better understanding of what makes me tick because of it, and what to watch for.

To my husband. I love you. You don't always see it, and you don't always let me say it but I do. I am grateful we are taking this next step in our relationship and building a better tomorrow for us and our family. It takes courage to admit you might have faults and greater courage to say lets fix it. Thank you for finally taking my hand.

It's funny how God puts certain people in your life and what they can show you. Reflection is all well and good, but moving forward is necessary too. thank you one and all for being my support team, the web that binds me.

The Anasazi

The Anasazi
Try to image life within the confides of a cliff, where existence is vital to the crop brought in. Now image living this way two thousand years ago, before modern tools. How did the Anasazi of Mesa Verde do it? Here is a people who understood the fight for life and somehow lost the battle. The remarkable nature of these people doesn’t stop at their ability to live in the unimaginable habitat of the cliff but also how four of their “villages” are aligned along the 108 degrees west longitude meridian.
The four aligned villages are the Aztec ruins, Solomon Ruins, Chaco Canyon and Casas Grandes, so we know they migrated far distances. Not only did they migrate but they perfected corn crops and brick laying. The village at Mesa Verde remains as a reminder of their intelligence and points to the answers of their existence. At Mesa Verde the housing is constructed in geometric shapes. These shapes were also reflected in their artwork, showing an understanding of mathematical concepts.
Early Earth science is a must have to have continued success with crop and to have four villages on the 108 meridian. This study had to be a focus for them to pull off a feat of such magnitude. How else would the Anasazi have been able to strive until around 1200 C.E. if not for their superior knowledge of nature. In the end there civilization has been lost and only the questions of how such a great people lost the battle of existence remains.
http://www.towson.edu/~brenda/newmexico/anasazi.htm

Columbus Found Asia?
Of course Christopher Columbus thought he had found Asia and went so far as calling the native people Indians but in fact all he found was the New World. The same dogged determination that produced the voyage to find Asia was Columbus’s down fall for not fully seeing what he had found. Had Columbus given in to the possibility that he just might be wrong he could have enjoyed the fact he was better than wrong, he was lucky. Never has one person been so close but yet so far from his goal and pride prevented Columbus from seeing the true jewel he had sailed upon.
In 1484 Columbus strived for a funded expedition to find a new route to Asia and was smacked down by King John II. After licking his wounds and getting his affairs in order Columbus sailed home to Spain to try his hand with their court. At first the Spanish Crown was not interested in Columbus but then in 1492 Queen Isabella turned and sponsored his voyage in hopes of spreading Christianity. Over the next eight years Columbus would make three trips to the west in search of Asia and never admit his idea was wrong and he had found a completely new world.
Christopher Columbus died in 1506 without realizing his dream of sailing west to Asia, this wouldn’t be possible until the early 1900’s. He had gone a little mad with his constancy he had found Asia or come to close to it. His death past without ceremony and yet we still honor him today.
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/columbus.html

Beacon’s Rebellion
In a land where the enemy lived at your properties edge Nathaniel Bacon found his element.
Being a young Englishmen settling in Virginia the native Indian was the target enemy for Bacon. When the law would not give Bacon a commission in 1675, Bacon took it by force.
Bacon befriended nearby peaceful Indians and persuaded them into taking hostile Indians capture. Once the peaceful Indians had successfully done as Bacon had asked he in turn killed all of them, hostile captured and peaceful alike. Gov. Sir William Berkeley labeled Bacon a traitor but failed to stand against Bacon. After months of Bacon’s Indian hunting, Bacon returned to Jamestown with 500 of his closest cronies and forced Berkeley’s hand in giving him the commission.
Berkeley fled to Chesapeake Bay and awaited help in the form naval force after recanting his given commission. Bacon died in October 1676 and his rebellion went with him. After the arrival of royal force and without Bacon the Baconites (or Bacons followers) subdued. The aftermath is the real point of the rebellion, however. It planted the seed that an upraise could be accomplished and that there never really was a strong law in early Virginia.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1p274.html
Instructor comments: This is just excellent work Thank you Dick Sennet score 60/60!
àThe New England Puritans were nothing more than a group of fanatics trying to hold dear to theology in a harsh frontier. When so many variables were out of their hands, they could at least control the destiny of their mortal souls. Were they superstitious religious fanatics? Yes, but only because of their own ignorance and strong hold to what they did hold true. Were they pious Christians committed to family values and conservative life styles? NO. If they were then why was there such a problem getting second and third generations to join the church as members? They latched on to their beliefs for stability and hope for a better future, after all they did leave England for a reason. Score 25/25

Nacierma

For those of you familiar with this article, I took it as serious as a student could. I did not question any aspect of it and took it at face value. As such my response is even more poignant. At the bottom of my response I've added the secret to this article for those that are not familiar to it.

Article 30: Body Ritual Among the Nacirema
The naive and primitive acts of body rituals in the Nacirema show the rest of the world faith is a truly powerful thing. The way this culture regards the body and then places their faith unquestionably in the hands of their “holy men”, “listeners” and “holy-mouth-men” shows learned behavior at its best; after all, faith is just another learned behavior. Even when things are at there grimmest the Nacirema still look forward to going to the said “holy-men” as if they will grant them everything they need for being healed. Exactly what that is unclear however, are they looking for rights of passage to the afterlife, are they looking for a miracle, what is it they really hope to gain from being mutilated by the “holy-men”?
While growing up Nacirema has its problematic situations, their children hold certain reservations about going to the “holy-men” showing faith in their gut feelings that marvels their adult counterparts. Perhaps if these children had more of a backbone they would be able to stand up for their rights and not attend the “holy-men” for healing. The benefit is undoubtedly longer lives by perhaps improved dental hygiene at the very least.
No matter how different the Nacirema are, they are a beautiful culture that deserves the right to practice their unique faith. The inclusion of this article in the class text is valid to show just how left cultures can be from American culture and still their cultures work for them. The American way is not always the best way and it can be certain the Nacirema would not want to live within the confines of the American culture anymore than any American would wish to throw themselves down at the feet of the “holy-mouth-men” for their semi-annual dentist appointment or the “holy-man” for their yearly physical.

***Spoiler Alert*** The article about the Nacirema is actually an article about Americans written in the 1950's. Some of the examples used of the culture are no longer relevant but the view point is. Here is someone looking at our culture from an outside perspective and this is what/how they saw it. Lesson Learned!

The Tall & Short of It

Article 38, Assignment 10

Is what we eat really a factor in how tall we are or does genetics play a part in the equation. In The Tall and the Short of It, Barry Bogin leads us to believe it is a mixture of both. He gives us argument supporting his thesis and it is sound argument. Mr. Bogin explains that humans have plasticity which enables us to grow to our surroundings and with what is available to us. Mr. Bogin down plays the importance of genes however, though he does give them a nod.

Mr. Bogin states on page 185 that the way to stop pygmies from being pygmies is to immigrate them to the U.S. but really is it that simple? I would argue not. Though the pygmy cultures may see an increase in height due to the better health and foods provided in the U.S. one would think these people would still remain on average smaller than there new U.S. counter parts or how else could we continue to call there original cultures pygmies. Wouldn’t they just be mal-nourished if they grew to average height once established in the U.S.? This would mean we would have to discontinue the use of the word pygmy in reference to their original culture. The continued use of the word gives meaning the culture really does have a genetic disposition to being shorter than average.

I would be interested to hear what Mr. Bogin has to say about my family, being how we are either short (below 5’5”) or tall (over 6’). My brother and I being a prime example of this, we grew up in the same house eating the same things and yet he is 6’4” while I am 5’3”. Mr. Bogins argument would have me to believe that somehow I didn’t get as much nourishment as my elder brother. I argue that this just could not be since we had the same diet growing up and were exposed to the same environment. Genes have to be a factor in this. This is not to say that Mr. Bogin doesn’t include genes in the equation, it just shows there is room for variance in the equation of height.

Bank's closure leaves void - Bakersfield.com

Bank's closure leaves void - Bakersfield.com

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Primate Aggression

Assignment 5, Article 15
“Rethinking Primates Aggression” written by Richard Conniff tells about the need to reconnect after a fight only the subject matter is chimpanzees and not humans. This article shows basic need to be reassured that all is still well. It also points to a greater understanding of behavior, be it chimpanzee or human. Conniff chronicles Frans de Waal research of chimpanzees and his observations. His admiration for de Waal is evident in his writtings and his siding on the anthropomorphism debate also focused in this article. In short Conniff is paraphrasing de Waal.
The article gives examples of how making up after a conflict can strengthen the group and help keep them united, just like in a human family unit. This is a very important aspect of evolution since there is strength in numbers. Chimpanzees have simply figured out they have a better chance of survival if they stick together so they better make peace thus making the group stronger and more united.
What I found interesting however was de Waal’s research center erecting partitions in the chimpanzee habitat so the chimps could copulate without being caught by the alpha male. Was this really a necessary addition to the habitat? Doesn’t this stray from natural environments? Do chimpanzees really have strong enough sexual urges to need to fulfill them? Apparently de Waal felt they were needed but they still leave this reader puzzled.

God Opens the Womb Part 2

It's true, God truly does open and close the womb. He sees how our lives are, he sees the people we surround ourselves with. He sees into our hearts. He knows if we are ready and willing to open our hearts to a new child. He sees the hope that may or may not be there. God knows all. He sees all.

We may not understand why he closes our womb, even when we pray so hard for him to open it, but he lets us know. In time God always shares with us. We just have to open our hearts and our ears and listen to him.