It was not my favorite thing to do either, but it has to be done ;) I finished the responses I had to do. I didn't listen to ALL of the available speeches. I just .... couldn't .... listen to any more at one point. I know people are trying their best, and I know I did, but some topics were just, NOT something I wanted to even listen to, and others the speech itself, well, needed improvement to be nice about it. And I still have do this one more time, for the persuasive speeches. Ugh. (what's really bad is that if I am thinking that about their speeches, WTH are they thinking about mine? probably much the same lol) I thought about posting my speech links in here for ya'll... LOL

Finishing proposal and then moving on to childhood classes. Thank goodness. Stuff I know better and prefer :P

I learned from watching American Idol a loooong time ago that there is a crazy amount of people that aren't self aware, lol. I think watching the auditions were the best parts.
It's probably the same thing about the speeches. You'll have plenty that aren't self aware, others will compete and possibly try to improve on their own speeches by listening to others, and the last part are the narcissist types that think theirs is better than everyone else's. :P

I'd listen to your speech!

Aww you would? :D My Introduction Speech My Informational Speech

And after all, this is a CLASS so its not like we are expected to be great speech givers. There are at least 20 people in this class (first intro speeches had 22 posts, the informational speeches had 20 posts). Like I said, I know everyone is trying their best...but it can still be cringy. And I KNOW mine is cringy at some points :P - twiddling thumbs, pauses, going um, whatever weird stuff I do lol

Kat, ILY, but I am NOT listening to your speech. <3 Unless you want us to watch them before you turn them in but you seem pretty self aware!

Well, be that way Mieke :P No, it's fine you do not have to watch them lol. I did think about asking ya'll for opinions before I turned them in, but honestly, I probably would have just turned in whatever one I showed you anyway, no matter what you said unless I felt it was awful :P (which if I felt it was awful I would not have showed it to ya'll lol)

Have sort of an outline going for my next speech, need one more source. I think I've got the proposal paper down good enough to turn that in but will wait a bit longer to make sure I don't branch off into something else and need to adjust it lol.

Read my first ECCE chapter, did the quiz, did the assignment (have not turned the assignment in yet). Also did the two work ethics lessons for the two ECCE classes. Organizational Skills for this week. :P Am I any good at organizing things? hmm.... :P

ALMOST left to take Nathan to my brother this morning before I realized I have a dentist appointment in the morning and if I left, I would not be back in time lol I am NOT driving all night to get back. So, we didn't leave but will go tomorrow after my appointment. His camping trip got cancelled for this weekend, and they are now planning to do it the last week of July instead, so he wanted to head down to uncle E's house to get started on fixing the Mazda. (oh and btw, Uncle E is actually what my kids call him, they did that on their own, I'm not trying to shorten/hide his name or anything, it's just become habit now to say Uncle E LOL - his name is Eric, and he has also been called Uncle Ewok which I found hilarious due to Star Wars and the Ewok movies but was really just because the poor kid (not mine) just could not say Eric)

"but honestly, I probably would have just turned in whatever one I showed you anyway, no matter what you said unless I felt it was awful 😛 (which if I felt it was awful I would not have showed it to ya'll lol)"

EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING :P

Haha. Uncle E is a good name, though! Ewok is killing me though, I'd for sure get him Ewok things every holiday :P

Iz has pottery all this week from 4-5:30, but this morning we went to the Steamtown National park/historic site. It was actually pretty neat, even with some of the buildings closed.. and we were a litttttle bit rushed through, because we were with some other 4H families. I think we might go back so we can take a bit more time looking around, then go to the trolley museum that's right across the parking lot. It has the train set that John Oliver gave to our newsstation.. that was actually too big to fit in the backyard :P

:D :D :D lol yes, exactly so.

Ooh pottery how fun! You'll have to show us some of the stuff she makes! And trains can be so cool.

mmm, he wasn't the big Star Wars fan tho, I mean, he liked it but that was my younger brother's thing, sooo yea. Of course, that one's favorite character was Darth Vader :P

Wondering if I somehow stuck myself or what? Small drop of blood just showed up on my arm randomly a bit ago. I wiped it off, looked at it after a few minutes and another tiny drop had formed. So I put a band aid on. I have no recollection of sticking myself and there wasn't a scratch...just like, this drop of blood seeped through my skin somehow. Weird.

Whyyyy is it so hot? Supposed to get to nearly a hundred tomorrow :o What WHAT? Sheesh. I booked myself a hotel since brother (Eric) has just moved onto his new property and said he had no idea what Nathan's sleeping arrangements would be while he is there, and since I'll be there overnight, I want a good place to sleep. I won't sleep at the other brothers or my mom's. Other brother has too many kids, not enough space, and my dad smokes in the house, so no. Not that I'll sleep great at a hotel either, but at least I'll have a bed and quiet. Nathan can stay with me that night if he wants.

Sorry Kat, I couldn't listen to your speech while logged on to my work's VPN so I knew I was going to have to listen to it on my phone, but I haven't gotten that far, yet. :P Been really weary today and I think it's b/c I took half a xanax last night. (I have them for my anxiety attacks, but I rarely ever need or use them.) I took it b/c I haven't been sleeping well this week.... like, I can be SO tired but literally cannot fall asleep to save my life, so I end up with around 4hrs of sleep a night, and even then it's not deep.

Been doing small stuff outside to try and move my body, since I haven't all week. Watered the plants, fed chickens, put more strings and branches around the peas and tomatoes b/c the tape I used was worthless, lol. Cut another section of lettuce b/c it's growing like crazy and the very first section I cut is already growing back. I can't remember what the hell I planted in one section so I guess I'll have to wait until it does something to figure it out. 😂 Got SOME spinach b/c at least those leaves look familiar and the rest is looking great.

In the upper small area that I put tomatoes in, I planted a banana pepper plant. Two weeks later I notice tomato plants growing up around it and while I was going to pluck them and place them somewhere else, I'm not sure what I want to do ALTHOUGH one of my potted tomato plants is looking like it was a window decoration in hell, even though it had just started to get some cherries on it, so I think I might replace it with the new plants that are growing.

Just put together a stand that's supposed to hold my hose, but honestly I don't think it feels very stable. Doesn't help that I just bent one of the spokes that go into the ground (it's that type, not one that you attach to your house) b/c there was a board in the way that I didn't see. BENT?! Not very solid, considering I didn't put my full weight on it for pressure of stuffing it into the ground.
Whatever.

Winds have shifted.... it's been smoky down here ALL day (from Canadian wildfires) which made me wonder how it is up/over 's way. Weather is actually pretty decent which makes the haze look so odd b/c we normally only see that kind of haze on the really hot and humid days.

Wishing the best for your air quality, Mieke. Gawd I wish I could've gotten my daughters into crafting stuff like pottery. Macramé, bead work, ANYTHING! Then again, I have NO idea how both of them ended up in healthcare b/c that is the absolute last area I would ever want to go into.

Ok, got it. :) Yes, please ping me if you are asking me something specifically. Otherwise I'll forget I posted/asked something and I won't respond. :D The stuffed poblanos sound delicious.:D

well yes of course, but do you want to be pinged whenever we post? Or like, not EVERY time, but if you've posted and then one of posts next, even if it's not specifically towards you?

I just don't want you left out of the conversation!

we had an air quality warning today, but it's been so humid and grey the last few days that I don't think anyone has noticed anything different, really haha.

It's her third year doing pottery, she uh.. mostly makes ducks, for reasons I can NOT understand.

no i figured that was the case, that you would watch them later. I always forget you are at work usually when you are on during the day but I do remember that you look at pictures and things when you aren't at work ;) Sounds like your garden is going crazy! Love it for you! I...just throw my hose on the ground, sometimes I coil it up. Its in between the two rose bushes under the kitchen window. I have tried some hose stand things before but I never liked putting the hose back on them, it was never easy like it seemed it would be. The back hose is stretched along the house, over towards Belle's runner line, so that she is easy to water, then just tossed back beside the house out of her reach lol Means I have to pick it up and move it when I go to mow the grass back there, but oh well.

Ugh for the still smokey conditions up there. Poor Canada and all of the north area that is affected.

ducks? hahah cute. Maybe they are easy for her. You would think that they would want her to branch out and expand her knowledge tho, after 3 yrs....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I mean, she's also made bowls, coil pots, regular pots too. And she was the only one in the little kid class last year who made a whistle that actually worked! And only two of the people in the teen/adult class got it. It's just, in her free time.. ducks :P

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Well I am almost home. Stopped to get $ from Ryan since it's on my way past. Waiting for him to get here (should be in a few minutes). Then I'll go home.

You've earned the Forum Posts achievement!

Ooh! 15,000/20,000 lol

[edit] 230pm Welp, that's not good. Mom/Dad just brought the Mazda up to brother's house, Nathan was checking it out. It is moldy in the back seat (gross), smelly of course. Sticky from humidity and everything else. He says they also said the battery died and it didn't want to start up, the power steering was acting up, and some other stuff. I'm sure it can all get worked out, its partly from sitting for several months. I told him to find out if they had a shampooer and he can work on cleaning it, but if not, he can still scrub and shop-vac it to get water back out - I'm SURE brother has a shop-vac if nothing else. Lots of cleaning. Gross. Gross. Gross. No one drove it, I guess. I think they all thought that I didn't keep the insurance on it or something. Mama said she must have got it mixed up with the mustang then, when I told her no, it was fully drive-able other than having the plastic and no lights on that one side. So, it sat parked under a tarp all this time. Oh well.

A little annoyed at a question in my quiz. I got it wrong. But it really didn't give enough information and so I assumed a different scenario than I guess the question did. Question states, "Goggles do not need to be worn at all times" T/F

• the chapter is over the block center/construction/woodworking center. Well, in my mind and the book, no goggles are not required during regular construction/block play but are required during woodworking. So, I answered that statement was true. It was marked wrong. Now - if the scenario is ONLY for woodworking, then yes goggles are required at all times. But the question does not clarify that. I emailed the teacher to point that out. I don't care that I got it wrong, just wanted her to know it was difficult to choose the correct answer as it does not clarify the scenario.

and - thank you for the birthday wishes! Another revolution of the sun completed and I'm still no wiser... 😆

To answer your question - no, you don't need to ping me if you're just nattering along talking about this or that. I would appreciate a ping if you're asking or telling me something specific to me as I don't always have the time needed to read everything. I've timed it, it takes me roughly 4-5x longer to do tings with a screen reader. I do eventually get them done, it just takes a bit. :D

I had a nice birthday. Hubby and the kiddos got me a samsung smart watch. It does all sorts of nifty things that I have no idea how to access. lmao But, I'm learning. Which is more than I did with my cell phone. Now, because the watch is integrated with the phone, I have to learn both. facepalmOh, well, I knew I couldn't avoid it forever. lol 😂 Kat77- I think you did the right think with that question. I hope she gives you the points back on yur quiz. Mieke - I ahem think ducks are a nice thing for her to make... :P

Well considering she didn't change a manually graded paper after I pointed out that what she said was missing was actually on my paper, I doubt she will change an automatically graded quiz. Considering I have an A in the class (like 450/460 points or something like that at the moment) I am not worried over two little points for the quiz.

My daughter and the teacher I work with have those (and many others as well) I am not a watch person but they do seem handy.

[edit] July 1st 240pm Well Shane is home for today, really for who knows how long it being 4th of July weekend. I hope he gets a load and can go out again tomorrow. He needs the miles and to make $. Overnighted Nathans wallet, brother said he'd pay for it so Nathan could go into the junkyard. $30! Crazy. Cleaned up Nathans bedroom and game room :P YES I waited til he left and then cleaned it and I don't care. I would have cleaned the game room anyway. But I merely moved things, picked up all the trash, vacuumed and moved things back in his bedroom. Took out the trash, picked stuff up off the floor and swept the game room. (it has tile floor). Took the trash out - Shane is going to take it off for me. I did also remove all the food from both rooms. Chips in one room (in a ziplock bag). Bag of oreos, box of cereal, and a poptart in the other room 🙄

Neighbor was outside earlier; she and her mom came to clean the house before she moves in I guess (they had cleaning supplies) and she told me she wouldn't move all the way in until the end of the month because she had to pay rent for July for her other place.

Kat, I hope your son gets a load or two so he can start catching up on what he owes. Poor Natha. He won't be able to find anything now and you removed his doomsday supplies. How will he survive? lol As for the watch, I had one that was a regular watch that spoke the time when I pushed a button. It would tell me what day it was if I pushed a different button. Hubby thought the smart watch would be an upgrade on that. He said it was the most recommended watch for the blind because of it's functionality. We'll see about that. lol No 4th of July plans here. My older kids are scattered and the Hubby and son don't care about fireworks. So, I'll probably be doing what I usually do. I've had professors like that, Kat. They stink but what can you do? :D

He will whine, complain ("mom I don't like it when you touch my stuff") and be fine. - Because in the end, I really didn't MOVE anything, since I put it back where it came from. The only thing I removed was trash and food. He can take the food back in the room after he comes home again, there is no reason for it to sit in his room while he is not there.

I am debating going to get at least one little thing, since the youth group is still selling fireworks. Support them a little and give me something to enjoy. I do enjoy fireworks, but I have never had to do anything but watch them LOL Hubby or kids always lit them up. My anniversary is the 4th of July. It would have been 27yrs this year. Does this year count? I don't know if I should count it. I probably will and say it is 27 yrs... because it technically is. eh. Whatever. Anyway, I only mentioned it because we always went and got a lot of fireworks and had fun for the 4th due to it also being our anniversary.

I literally had the read the duck thing, then read it hours later to understand what you meant. I'm slow, sometimes! :P

Oh no about the car, kat! :( Hopefully they really CAN still get it all fixed up.. and get rid of the mold!

Guys. We are basically playing a game of if you give a mouse a cookie with this damned van. First we had to replace the front wheel bearings.. but that wasn't the noise (completely!). But doing that, we found out that the one caliper had locked up, so we had to replace the caliper, and we did the brakes and rotors on the front while we did that. THEN we had to replace the CV joint.. that wasn't the noise (fully). So then we replaced the other front CV joint!

AND NOW.. now when we took it on the test drive, we're finding that the noise was (probably.. hopefully!) the rear passenger wheel bearing. So now that's ordered.

So in the past two months.. new brakes and rotors for the truck and the van.. and the car. Two new tires for the van, four new tires for the truck. One wheel bearing for the truck, three for the van. An entire new exhaust system for the car. And they all needed new wipers LOL. And a rear wiper arm for the van, and a front one for the truck.

AND the two CV joints for the van...

I almost never curse and when we got into the van to test drive it after the other CV joint, I literally yelled out "oh fuck me" to which Alex actually looked at me, shocked LOL. he didn't even make a dirty joke, he was so surprised :P

brother said it is surface mold, so easy to clean up. Thank goodness. I was worried since even though I had shampooed and sucked water out like crazy after the tornado, that there was mold inside the seat cushions. (I am still a little afraid of that but ... I KNOW I had the car dry and it wasn't smelly before it went down there, so hopefully it really is only surface) Humidity is horrible and worse on the island. It was never opened up, just sat covered by a tarp the whole time.

Shane is leaving out again today, do not know when he will come back but it is just a short run, so its likely he'll be home for the 4th, but its also possible he won't.

Hahah for cursing and hubby being shocked. I'm like that too. It takes SO much to make me cuss and I have NEVER used that word (F) out loud, tho I swear to you, I've come close this past year or two. So sorry about your vehicles. It is such a pain fixing them up, but sometimes it is better than buying a new one (even a new USED one). Sometimes not. Guess you have to decide when it gets to that point. Love that you compared it to give a mouse a cookie tho I just laughed and laughed at that comparison. I love those books and we read a lot of them to the PreK kids :)

Oooh well, hopefully it is only surface! If not, I guess worst comes to worst, they can rip out the seats and install new (used!) ones?

Good for Shane getting a run, boo for it being short.. kind of!

Let me tell you Kat, it's DEFINITELY been If you give a mouse a cookie around here! I've been quoting it for weeks haha. Obviously we've read them all a bunch, too :P Used cars are still so expensive right now, this is definitely still the way to go. And like, ANY car will need tires. It's just frustrating that it's all at once basically, you know?! On the upside.. soon, it'll basically be a brand new van! haha.