Approaching Glory

Adobe Photoshop Elements 7

I put my application in for the other job.  While I would love working at the location, there are aspects of the job with which I feel uncomfortable (read - would have learning curve).  So we shall see. 

On another note - I have been contacted (again) to consider a stay-at-home (for the most part) job.  I have a close friend who is employed in corporate training and development. (out in Utah)  We knew each other for years when she and her children lived here.  L's been asking me to consider helping her take on some contract work.

I've always hesitated because 1) I don't want to disappoint her or fail and 2) the learning curve for the software she uses seem (ed - s) daunting. She called again on Friday (the day I applied for another job).  I wasn't home so I had to listen to the appeal on the answering machine.  So we "talked" over Messenger and I told her my thoughts and she asked me three questions:

• Do you know how to use Power Point? - yup
• Have you ever written currriculum? - yup
• Have you ever created graphics? - uh yeah.

So she assures me I've got what it takes.  That led me to explore the links to the software products she uses.  Never one to want to pay through the nose for a software, I purchased Paint Shop Pro many years ago.  Of course that was also many many versions ago.  But it served my purposes very well.  However, in the "real" world of business and pro-photography manipulation it is all about Adobe.  So I downloaded a trial version of the program used by most (who don't buy the big Adobe Suite thing) - Elements 7.

Sweet.  Easy to use - user friendly.  The above collage was created pretty effortlessly.  Each photo represents:

1. cropping
2. removal of red eye (very easy)
3. removal of unwanted photo elements including stray hairs, and the biggie (the whole background of a photo [the pic with Tango had a background of our back porch] - that is so cool)
4. special effects - the pic of Jbird playing his violin was cropped and then turned in to a pencil drawing.
5. then I took some of the pics and using their projects option - I created the collage

This means that I recommend the program if you are into digital pic manipulation, digital scrapbooking, or creating photos for the Web.  I can get a student pricing but I believe L uses the studio/professional version - which is beyond me affording right now.  Hey - but at least I realized I can learn to use it rather quickly.

Which leades us to a discussion on - Articulate.....

Monitored Purchases

We got the coupon in the mail for the digital conversion box.  Tried it out and it just isn't going to work.  It might have to do with the fact we live out in the country - it may be because our tv is ancient.  All we could get in was 1/2 a channel - I say 1/2 because what we did get was so fuzzy.

So with Father's Day on the horizon, we bit the bullet and plunged into the widescreen tv acting as tv (eventually) and monitor.  Of course we were looking for the best deal and quality.  I've been doing researching on the Net for awhile.  However, I like to see a store model up close and personal before I make a final purchase.  We ended up with an Insiginia (a brand of LG) - last year's model which isn't that much different from this year's model.  Definitely not the top of the line as far as pixels are concerned, but the guy told me don't worry about the pixels right now - the wiring to homes isn't even ready yet for the heavy duty pixels.  So I ask why are people spending all this money on the high pixels - the guy just smiled.  Right - less money and less pixels please.  Then I asked my standard question, "Which one would you buy for your home?" (always works well and is great with doctors too - "And who would you send your spouse to?")

We now have a 32 inch HDTV acting as a monitor.  I can actually read the Net without my glasses! LOL!  Next big decision we will face with media is in August when our Verizon wireless account plan ends.  We think we are going to go with AT&T and bundle our wireless, DSL, and cable tv (which we have never had in this house and we've been here over twenty years)  If we bundle we will actually come out cheaper than our home AT&T service, Verizon wireless, and the Netflix service.  I think we're at the place where we feel like we don't need the home phone anymore.

Update on Jbird:  First - thanks for your prayers - I needed it.  I did get up and go over the article with him this morning.  He did get the results from his first Algebra test - he made a "C".  He's a trifle bummed.  However, he was pleased that everything we discussed this morning was "right on target" with what the English Prof was talking about.  Jbird got his ducks in a row and 1) found the digital recorder 2) talked to someone in class about being a notetaker (she is more than happy to write down the assignments but doesn't want to go through the formal thing - fine by J) 3) he delivered all his paperwork to the disability services.  And to address what you said Uli - he will be getting training next week on some new equipment that will be put in place for him this fall.  I believe they are going to employ software that includes some type of text reader and/or speech to text stuff.  Everyone's emotions are back to normal and we all have a better perspective.

Update on Jen:  SIL and Jen returned to the campus today with all their needed materials and did get a chance to meet someone who was very nice to them.  I think she should hear some type of formal notice online by next week sometime and then she can meet with an advisor and get registered for the fall.

Oh - and I'm considering putting in another job application.  Lord close or open the door quickly.

Having a Learning Disabled Child

Jbird has learning disabilities - with several different co-morbid conditions.  Let's just say that his bucket is pretty full with different things.  Most of the time we handle the issues pretty decently. And the college has done well to accommodate his needs - mostly.  However, I knew this semester was going to be a mountain for him.  First - taking classes during summer increased the pace of learning.  Secondly - the courses attempted were significantly more difficult than those he had taken in the spring.  I kinda went into this semester with dread - feeling like it would make or break him - and hoping beyond hope to be pleasantly surprised.

One of the biggest factors to succeed in college is organization.  The majority of college freshman are overwhelmed at the demands of self-motivation, study habits, etc.  Add learning disabilities to the equation .. and well.... it can be daunting.  Now let's factor in that college-age students are required to advocate for themselves.  They must use their own voice to ensure they have what they need to succeed.  That is huge.  Jbird is required to take a copy of his accommodations to each professor, go over what he needs, and then they both sign the papers, and Jbird must then get them back to the disability services.  In addition, if he needs a notetaker - the new method is that the student tells the professor, who then announces in class that someone in class needs a notetaker, the person who agrees gets paid $50 for the course, they have to deliver the notes to the disability services, and Jbird has to go there to pick them up (this is all done this way because of client confidentiality).  Which is fine - except - he has had two classes where the notetakers were terrible and one was fantastic.  Jbird must go to the disability services office to schedule all his tests and then remind his professors when he needs his tests delivered.

The issues right now?

1. Jbird has failed to recognize the importance of reading the syllabus and understanding all its components
2. He has neglected to use an agenda or calender.
3. He hasn't gotten his notetaker for the 3 hours English comp class and therefore has made a couple of crucial errors due to this ie: lack of notes - trying to remember what was said without writing it down and missing assignment details (can't find digital recorder - which he has been told by us several times to use)
4. One of J's big challenges is reading comprehension - if he reads an article he needs to discuss it with someone - and he needs someone to tell him what the questions are asking.  He is primarily an auditory learner.  So after he was given a reading assignment last week, I wondered what he was going to do - both his dad and I told him that he might want to go over the questions with us or try answering them by typing a full response (Jbird: the professor didn't assign the questions) Right.  Concrete thinker.  So I told him, "If I was teaching the class I'd have you come in and start writing about what you read."  Which I found out tonight is precisely what the professor did and Jbird was lost as last year's Easter egg.

5. While I was sleeping, Jbird and his father went over the Algebra.  He looks totally wiped-out when I awake - mean as a snake.  Which is when I learn about all his problems with the English class - including he has NOT read his assignment for tomorrow - nor can he remember how he is to complete the extra credit project (credit his really needs) When he gets overwhelmed he avoids rather than confronts - and becomes depressed and tired.

And dear reader - I just want to cry and run away.  However, Jbird and his father go downstairs to work on the extra credit project (he has now taken his meds and he put his head down on the desk and fell asleep.  I begin to scan the reading assignment.  There is NO way he will get this material without discussion.  It is filled with terms and vocabulary that he would have needed to look up.  The references in the article are to people and things I have to look up.  I wish I was in the class because I'd love to do some writing about texts that have Abby Hoffman touted as some paragon of cultural change.  Give me a major break.

I told Jbird to go to bed and that I'd get him up at 6am to discuss the article and give him an idea what it is about. 

I say all that to say - when do you say, "I know intellectually he is capable of the achievement.  However, the drain emotionally and physically on him and us is tremendous. Let's toss in the towel. It is time to find a good full time job he can handle and let it go."  He doesn't have vocational skills and he has pace issues which make retail - customer service jobs a problem.  He wants to have an education which he believes will allow him to support a family someday.  What do you say to that?  He wants to be an academic -  like his parents - and he has a brain where the wires are hooked-up differently and stop the assimilation of information.

So this is where I go back to my knees and remind God that this is the home where he put Jbird.  That He loves him more than I ever could - and that His Word promises me that He has plans for J and that those plans are good.  And I tell Him - I don't have a way right now -but that I know His Son is the Way.  Please Father - let Your Son help my son. Help me to have faith - to have hope - and to remain encouraged by Your Truth.

An Alexander Day

Sometimes you just have one of "those" days.  This was one of them.  We got up early in order for Hubby to work with Jbird on math.  Jen and SIL show up to head on over to EHHS to enroll for the fall.  And here's how the rest of the day went:

• our county requires 28 credits to graduate whilst the county where Jen is currently living requires 24

• this means that instead of being 1.5 credits short she would be - well you do the math!  The lady who was supposed to meet with us was not there and the man "substituting" wasn't really helpful (that's an understatement but I'm doing my best to be kind

• we realize this isn't going to work and decide to opt to for school where Hubby teaches where Jen will have only to take the 1.5 credits and can do so on computer and work at her own pace

• I get the idea that we should look at the city system before heading down to Hubby's school (my idea being that I wanted Jen to have the opportunity to graduate from a "normal" high school if she could possibly have it) Unfortunately, they also require 28 credits and they tell us to go to Hubby's school

• We go to Hubby's school and they treat us nicely and in fact, go overboard to facilitate her attending school there.

• We proceed to GSC to the admissions office and meet with an admission's person who must be the evil twin to the one that Hubby, Jay, and I had when we went down last year.  If we didn't want this all to work out for Jen so badly - well - to say that I was sorely tempted to cut this woman to the quick is a vast understatement.  She was the lady who had advised the admission's person we saw last week that we needed to get my niece accepted to our county school system before we began the application process with the college - which we obeyed and now she was sitting there across the table from us repeatedly asking if we'd filled out the application yet!  And had the audacity to ask us who had given us this advice.

• Thankfully, - I held my tongue.

• Out to lunch - we were driving in the big clunker car which has no air.  We decided on that car because it is big and could hold us all. It was scorching today and since I have a problem with heat, I was just getting hotter to the point where I knew I was going to be sick soon.

• Over lunch we all discussed our options and to tell you the truth, I was still so ticked with system loopholes, and incompetancy that I didn't even focus on the conversation too much.

• Back home - talk some more.

• Jbird breaks news he knows he made a mistake on the last question on his test yesterday and will lose all points for that one.

• He looks terrible - stressed to the max.

• I go lay down and sleep for 2.5 hours and wake up looking and feeling horrible.  Grouchy, headache, high anxiety, and mean and a snake.  This is the way my body works when I get overheated in the summer.  I spend most days indoor with the air blasting

• And then come the clinchers to the day - Jbird - which is a discussion for another post.

Family Resemblance

"Remember, Jehovah, thy tender mercies and thy loving-kindnesses; for they are from everlasting."  Psalm 25:6

I remember this song from when the dinos roamed the earth.  It touched my heart because it is the cry of my heart - I want to be like Him.  I want to be identified with my Heavenly Father and I want others to be provoked to want to be His child too.

However.... (isn't there always one).. I am human and I make mistakes.  Now I know that is surprising to my readers - but sadly true.  Like last week for instance.  I was asked months ago to pray for a family whose house was to go up for auction this week.  They have around ten or eleven in this family and a brand new child was born in the past month.  They hadn't told anyone (and that includes their pastor) the direness of their situation except two or three people they knew would pray.

Well - their pastor (who has a daily email component to his ministry) found out.  Now this dear man NEVER asks for money - EVER.  He runs his entire ministry on faith.  And guess what?  God has never failed to come through for him.  This guy was driving home from one of his outreaches when he felt compelled by the Lord to mention the situation of this family on his email.  At first he resisted - this was not how his ministry functioned.  But it was pointed out to him that the land that this home was sitting on had been dedicated to the Lord as a retreat area (and it has been a  private home but there is a guest house that has been used many many times for peole who need help or just a prayerful retreat).  In obedience, the pastor posted the information.

And - well - you know - God came through.  In three days they had over $30,000 to pay off the debt and they are able to stay in their home.  Now to show you where I'm at:

• I've got to admit I'm still amazed and dazed when God does this sort of thing - yes - I've been on the receiving end of this type of miracle (like when someone handed me the keys to an almost new car and said they knew they were supposed to give it to me - over ten years later and it is still being used) - but none-the-less - I still get surprised
• I thought to myself, well - I would have given them the money - but I would have wanted to be sure they understood how they got where they are so they wouldn't repeat the situation  (this is SO typically me)

About the time my mind was going down that road, there was this still small voice that said, "What conditions did I make for them to receive what they needed?"  Dear reader - there is NO way for me to tell you how I felt.  It was as if someone had sucker punched me.  I had the instant realization that I don't resemble my Father very much at all.  I am still functioning (for a large part) on conditional love as opposed to being like Him (who loves us while we were yet sinners and loves us no matter what and NEVER says - well, when you clean yourself up - or - yes you can have that but let me tell you a thing or two before I give it to you). I was sorely grieved.  Even as I type this my heart is sad - thirty-five years of being a Christian and I wonder how much I've truly yielded in my life, my thoughts, my emotions in order to be like Him?  And that my friend humbles me beyond anything and makes me very thankful that His mercies are new every morning.

College and Journeys

Life sometimes throws a curve ball at you.  Or maybe it is God (who by the way has a wonderful change-up) and this situation is a part of - you get to take the test until you get it right syndrome.  I don't know - but where I thought our lives were heading less than a week ago has taken a dramatic left turn.

Summer Bugs

Man - I have NO what this thing is called, but Jbird and I have it big time.  J had a doctor's appointment on Friday morning and I'm glad he did.  Doc says we have the summer bug that is going around - and that he expected Hubby to either have it or get it.  He was correct.  Headaches, stomach ache, and general overall blah.  I thought I was feeling better today so I went and worked out at the Y with Hubby.  About 2 P.M. and I thought I was going to croak.  Fell across the bed and zonked out for several hours.

Today was Jbird's first day of his summer session.  He looked terrible.  He hasn't eaten much in about four or five days.  They've also made a med adjustment and it is hard to tell how effective it is when you feel cruddy in the first place.

Hubby worked on the lawn.  (he loves his riding lawn mower).  Jbird and I are trying to talk him into a large screen monitor for our Father's Day gift to him.  (24 inch)  We don't have a digital tv and since we got Netflix we watch most of our stuff through my computer.  I have a Hannspree monitor but it isn't that big.  So my thought was to give Hubby mine for his computer (he bought a tower off of a guy who is closing down his office - nice and very affordable).  His monitor is one of those old big clunky ones and it is dying.  So if we attach the big one to my computer then we can watch the movies together on the larger screen.

I may be sick but my thinking gets me the new monitor - sounds like a sharp idea to me.

Dante's Concentric Circles of Choices

If you don't know who Dante is click here.  He is an interesting character to say the least.  As you who have been readers here know, we made a decision to homeschool our son when he would have been entering the third grade.  I homeschooled for ten years.  During that time Hubby worked two and three jobs at times in education in order for us to be able to do that.  Unfortunately, as time has a way of doing, the house began to show the wear and tear of twenty years of being lived in.  The appliances all decided that they gave us faithful service and one by one they died.  Add surgeries, doctors, normal things like clothes, homeschool materials, and well - it is quite understandable that debt accumulated.

Could we have made wiser choices - probably - without a doubt.  Would I do the homeschooling over again?  Without a doubt.  We have the young man we have today due to that choice.

So - this was the year I find a job and attempt to help bail whilst the waters creep toward the top of the boat. (and hopefully the rain stays at bay until we can afford a new roof)  But so far this has not happened.

Hubby and I sat down with a cup of coffee the other day and discussed the disgusting situation.  Because Jbird was homeschooled he must prove he can maintain a "B" average for one year of college and then be retroactively be reimbursed by the Hope scholarship fund. (that means all tuition and $150 per semester toward book costs) - for us that is the end of December 2009.  He then can retain the Hope scholarship for as long as he keeps a "B" average.  That would be a nice chunk to get back.

Since our county is reducing the teacher's pay (and maybe the National Board Teacher's thing as well) - and that Hubby is only working one job - well, we need to think of something.  In education, the only way to increase your pay is to climb the ladder of degrees.  Hubby has his Masters in Mathematics.  There is NO way we have the money for Hubby to pursue his Doctorate.  However, if he were to pursue an EDS in Teaching and Learning with a concentration in mathematics - he would be eligible for a teacher's Hope Scholarship - which would be excused with work service time.  We had a long discussion as to whether or not he wanted to pursue Educational Leadership (principal/vice principal thing) but he said with the way the system is going he has no desire to go down that road.

So we begin to look for online programs in our state and find three that appear do-able.  But - isn't there always one somewhere?  The deadline for one school has passed for fall admissions.  The other two have July 1st deadlines - BUT - each in their own quirky ways have so many stupid hoops to jump through for admissions it appears impossible to get all the paperwork completed by that deadline.  And it appears that at one (if not two of the schools) may require that Hubby retake the MAT or GRE.  Give me a break - if you took it once to get into graduate school why in the world should you have to take it over again - no matter how long it has been?  Education is all about hoops - trust me.  It looks more and more like our sights may need to be directed to a January start.

Now - what about the wife who wanted to work on her Master's over ten years ago?  Ah well ..... that's a different story.

Dear Mr. President - It's Me Again

 Dear Mr. President,

I know you've missed hearing from me.  I feel it necessary to inform you that your Muslim roots are showing.  Of course you could write directly back and tell me that right now I kinda look like a skunk myself.  And no sir, I am not referring to Muslims as skunks - so don't even go there with a "politically correct" argument.  However, I'll soon dye for my cause - so don't worry about it.   I'm sure by now you've read Jack Trapper's article.  Interesting points don't you think?  And I've got to tell you I really love Jenny's recent post.  Did you read that?  Ah - didn't think so.  Makes me wish we had a political clothesline on which to hang some of the issues - of course we'd clean them up a bit with some handy dandy Rhetoric before we put them out there in the wind.

Did you happen to read what Peggy Noonan wrote about you in her column in the Wall Street Journal on May 1st?

"President Obama’s news conference Wednesday night was a bit of a masterpiece. The Obama Thinking Look was back, as he parsed questions, took notes, and offered up rehearsed answers in a way that made them seem not written by the Committee on Soundbites but natural to him, as if he were formulating answers in the here and now. On torture, he cited Churchill. He spoke of pro-lifers not with any of the appellations the left prefers but as pro-lifers. He dispatched the culturally radical Freedom of Choice Act as “not a top priority”; he said he doesn’t want to run auto companies and banks and would prefer, in fact, a smaller portfolio. His presentation was low-key, authoritative, and had the look and feel of moderation. When you can give this impression while some of your decisions—for instance, on the legitimate cost and reach of government—are not, actually, moderate, you are demonstrating a singular political talent.

He is subtle and likes to kill softly. As such, he is something new on the political scene, which means he will require something new from his opponents, including, first, patience."

I've got to hand it to you.  You are slick.  And I thought President Clinton's nickname kinda fit him - slick Willy.  The speech at Notre Dame - said nothing -yet everything. I don't believe those who have suffered from abortions (and that includes the mothers, fathers, and the babies)  would think you kill softly - but we don't want to discuss that now, do we? (I fail to remember that you and I have quite a difference of opinion on who is suffering, and when, on that issue)  Please let me remind you that actions speak louder than words.  Since you've been in office are saying alot.

So my point today - today was pay the bills day.  The day where you try and make what you've got coming in stretch out to where it has to go.  You know the feeling don't you?  I mean after all - Mr. President, yourself said and I quote, "We're out of money." 

Well, with that in mind - let me tell you - we finally do have something in common afterall.

As always - you continue to provoke me to prayer.....

Black Rat Snake Invades Home

Okay - picture this:  you go out the side door, head to the car, just make it there when your son yells at the top of his lungs.  You turn around run back  - just in time to see the end of a black snake slithering into your house.  Now from the bit I could see (this dude was moving!) I figured it to be about 4 feet long and quickly heading behind our bookshelf.  After screaming, I tell son to grab the thing and get it out of the house.  Of course he was too late and it totally disappeared behind said unit.  Now I make the emergency call to Hubby who is on the golf course.  Except his phone rings upstairs because (once again) he has failed to take it with him!  So I call M (buddy and golfing with Hubby) and ask to speak to Hubby immediately.  When I explain that we now have a HUGE black snake in our downstairs I get, "Well, keep an eye on it (now interrupted my M who suggests I call 911 who will put me in touch with animal control."  Right.  Talk about knights on white horses!  I needed a HERO to come riding to the rescue.

So - I do what any self-respecting woman (whose house is in NO state whatsoever to be visited by outside people) would do.  I ordered my son to stay downstairs and I go upstairs.  Son informs me that the snake is NOT behind the shelves any longer and he doesn't know where it is. 

Remembering that Hubby is the man who jumped four feet in the air when he had to hunt a skink in a closet - I know we are in for an interesting evening.  I have visions of a cozy motel room with a jacuzzi where I will live until the snake is found.  I see myself on a beach somewhere - far far away.

However, I get a call from the guys (M wants to know if he's needed on the great snake hunt - I say no - but I'm figuring Mr. Fearless Hubby will drag him along anyway - and I'm right) they are on the way.  Next thing I know Hubby is standing a good distance from the moved bookshelves with golf club in hand, Jbird is shining a light on the curled up snake (who was still behind the bookshelves) and M (with golf club poised) is ready to slay the snake.  They marvel that the snake was over 4 feet long.  I tried to tell Hubby that on the phone.  Anyway - it would have made a great YouTube video.

Suffice it to say  - it is safe to sleep in my house tonight.  Don't bother making comments about nice rat snakes.  I know they do good things - just not in my house - thank you very much.

I will now go eat pizza (no it is NOT on the diet - it is comfort food) and watch Australia.  Peace to all.