working out for Disney

[Songbird76]

So, my original idea of the place around the corner fell through. They stopped taking orders as soon as I tried to place mine. I found a Thai restaurant and ordered from there at 6:30. The delivery person is on a bicycle and she is in Weehawken. I am in Jersey City. The time kept clocking up as the night went on. It's going to be delivered at 8:30, allegedly. I love eating cold noodles. I tried calling the restaurant and got the run around. The phone went dead. I am calling American Express and getting a charge back.

Oh that's sucky!! Will they make it hard to get the money back? We ordered pizza once and after 2 hours it still wasn't there. My husband actually drove over to the pizza place after we called, they said it was on its way and never showed up, then they stopped answering the phone. When he got there, the place was locked up, even though it was within opening hours and all the employees were just sitting there doing nothing. He knocked, they let him in, told him our order was on the counter if he wanted to take it. He did, but when he brought it home, it wasn't what we ordered and it was all burnt. They just gave him some burnt food to get him to leave. We never order from that place now. I'm sorry your dinner didn't work out. What did you end up doing? Just heat the food up when it got there? When did it actually get there?

 

[Songbird76]

Well, if it's any consolation, I had to step up and do the cooking when my mom had her gall bladder out when I was in high school, in addition to doing things like getting B off the bus, making sure he had a snack, etc. My dad in theory can cook; he's just terrible at it unless it involves a grill or an oven. Even stuff like instant mashed potatoes are questionable. And burgers I have to hover over him because he'll slap a patty on a bun and call it a day. No cheese, no toasting the bun so it doesn't get soggy...I'm like, put some cheddar on those burgers at the very least and toast that bun.

Even now if my mom is out of commission and he's just planning on grilling something, I go help to make sure he doesn't do something like microwave green beans as a vegetable or put baked potatoes in the microwave five minutes before we're ready to eat.

Well, her normal chore is to help me cook, so she's actually pretty good at cooking. My husband is completely competent in the kitchen and usually when I have something else going, I'll tell him he's in charge of dinner. (Though to be fair, he usually takes the easy way out by either letting Alex eat junk food for dinner, or doing deep fry stuff) but right now, since we BOTH have covid, neither one of us can prepare food for the kids because we might make them sick. But my husband's last day in Quarantine is Friday, so he said he would cook Saturday and Sunday, which is MY last day in quarantine, but then he remembered that A has a chess tournament on Saturday, so he won't be home on Saturday to do the cooking. And SUNDAY they are going to my in-laws' because tomorrow is my BIL's birthday, so they are going to celebrate it on Sunday, but I can't go because I'm still in quarantine that day. So he CAN'T cook on the weekend, because he's gone both days. So E still has to cook Saturday, but only for the 2 of us, and then Sunday I'll have to eat leftovers or something because they will all be at my BIL's birthday, unless the kids catch covid from us before that. M is actually really good at cooking....he makes a mean katsu chicken, but he tends to be kind of lazy most of the time. It's not that he CAN'T do it, it's just that he doesn't want to. He's likely to completely skip veggies. Though in the last few weeks, he's been cutting out most of the carbs, so he HAS been eating more veggies, but usually when HE's in charge of dinner, he won't make a vegetable to go with whatever he makes.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I had tried so many things for anxiety. I meditate every day, I take medication and I even take cold showers. I resisted trying it, because I had been trying to get hired as a flight attendant and I'd likely fail a drug test using CBD.

It's funny that you bring that up. My friend was recommending his CBD cream for Sam whenever she has muscle soreness from intense practices or hard hits (took a few pitches to the ankle recently). I had to tell him no. He didn't realize it was a banned substance with the NCAA and most athletic organizations. It doesn't surprise me that it would also be an issue with airlines. That being said, if you don't have involvement in anything where it's prohibited, it supposedly can be a real game changer for getting a handle on pain and anxiety.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Out of curiosity, I looked online at a dispensary near me. There is a strain called "dole whip." I have to say I am shocked at how expensive it is. Depending on which kind you buy, an eighth of an oz starts at $65 and goes up over $100. I don't smoke, so I have no idea about any of this.

While I've never looked, I've heard that there are some crazy flavors in some of these modern strains. The friend who uses the cream also smokes, so he's my main source of information I seem to recall he even got in on some good Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh this wasn't a college class. It was a high school program to prepare high school students for college. They took 100 of the top students in the state the summer after Sophomore year. You applied for the program just like you would for college. You wrote an essay, made a list of your activities, volunteer work, extra-curriculars, etc, sent in your transcript. Then they chose kids from accross the state...they tried to choose at least one kid from each school that sent in applications. It was another of those things where I benefitted from going to a small school where there was little competition. I was the only one who applied the year I was eligible. Our counselor made it sound SO boring when he came in and told us about it, but my brother had been accepted the year before, which was kind of funny, because the counselor hadn't intended to send in his application. He was out for a few weeks and the guy they got to fill in sent in all the applications when the counselor had only intended to send in 2, and my brother's wasn't one of them. But my brother was chosen for the program and it was kind of life-changing for him. He LOVED it and came home talking about all these friends, and I got to meet a bunch of them through activities, especially speech and debate. So I already knew I wanted to go so badly! I couldn't wait to apply, but the counselor made it sound so boring, no one else wanted to do it. Do academic stuff on summer vacation?? No way. But they weren't for college credit or anything. It was just fun stuff to give you a taste of what college would be like, and it was a recruitment tool for the University of Wyoming....they gave a small scholarship to each student selected if they came to UW, and since you already knew the campus from having lived there for 3 weeks and taking classes there, students were more likely to choose to stay in Wyoming for University. The kids we met there were all good students, well-rounded....just like college, you couldn't get in on good grades alone. You had to be active in your school and community. I'd never have gotten chosen if it weren't for the small school where I had top grades. I mean, I had all the extra-curriculars....I had been a cheerleader, I did speech and debate, and student council, I did every play and musical, I made all-state choir freshman year, I was involved in my church, I was a D.A.R.E. role model, and I was in National Honor Society. So I had all that stuff, but I WOULDN'T have in a larger school and competition was really fierce. Most of the kids probably could have gone Ivy League if they'd wanted to by the time they graduated, but a BUNCH of us ended up at UW, mostly because we got scholarships to go there and we were familiar with the school. It was an amazing program. My humanities course was "Humor: know laughing matter" all about different kinds of comedy. Comics, sitcoms, stand-up, slapstick, etc. And along with our classes, we also had a group thing every couple of days like a support group where we were supposed to talk about issues that face teens, like drugs, self-esteem, family issues, etc. We usually didn't stay on topic, but we always had a great discussion anyway. But the drug class was interesting. We took a fieldtrip to the Cheyenne crime lab where we got to learn about different narcotics they had found in the state and how they tested for them, and we went to an NA meeting and met drug addicts and got to talk to them and ask questions. It was fascinating. We did testing on rats using caffeine and what affects it has on the body. We had discussions in class about different points of view about legalization. The book we used had arguments both for and against, so you could see both sides and we had lively discussions. You know, science was my worst subject in school, but I LOVED that class and I was one of the few who really participated fully. Most kids didn't want to touch the rats and a lot of kids skipped classes now and then, but I found it all interesting and never missed a class. We didn't get any credits or grades...there was no incentive to go other than just wanting to learn, but why else would we apply to the program if we didn't want to learn? There were some goof-offs of course, but most of the kids chosen were pretty good. I think most of the kids who skipped were ones who didn't get the classes they had wanted. There was one about animals...fins, fur, and fine feathered friends I think it was called, and there was one about nuclear physics...they got the plans to make a bomb, but of course you can't actually get the things you need to make one...it was more just learning about the chemial reactions that make an atom bomb work. There was one about the "glasnost kids of russia" where they actually learned some Russian, and they made a meal for everyone in the program with actual Russian foods. I remember they had something with bugs in it, and I am pretty sure I didn't eat that night. You could sign up for trips to Walmart, or to the gym, or to a museum, etc. We took a trip to Denver and got to go to the IMAX theater and a museum, go shopping, and then most of the kids chose to go to the Rockies game, but there were 6 of us who didn't. They couldn't get tickets for everyone, and asked if there was anyone who didn't want to go. I'm not a huge sports fan, so I opted to go back to Laramie and watch a movie...which was kind of stupid because they rented A league of their own....a baseball movie. So our options were a live baseball game, or for those who aren't baseball fans and didn't care to see a game, a baseball MOVIE. But it was a fantastic program anyway. Would have been nice to get some college credit for it, though!! And none of my actual college classes were as interesting or fun as the classes that were offered in that program. It was certainly the most interesting science class I ever took!!

Oh OK. It sounded like it was a college credit program being offered to high schoolers, but maybe I misunderstood. It sounds like a great program! It's making me think of a conversation we recently had with Kendall. While not any particular program, a lot of colleges now look favorably on high school kids taking college courses over the summer. So, she's meeting with her counselor later this week to see what she might be able to add. Your humor class sounds like a lot of fun, but also interesting. Jealous that you got to work with rats. I would have probably gotten some rat work if I had gone for a BS, but the BA students didn't get any of that. The closest I got was looking at drug impacts on sheep brains. I would have loved the animal class. There are times when I wonder if I would have been better off with a major based on animals and wildlife. That's funny that you declined MLB baseball and still got a baseball movie. Of course, that movie is a huge fave in our house. I swear, Sam will watch it any time she sees it on tv. Back in her younger days and dress up Halloween tournaments, that was one of the more popular team costumes. It's too bad there were no college credits awarded, but it still sounds like a great program. NJ has something kind of like that for high school juniors (summer between jr and sr year), but it's changed over the years. The current program only caters to STEM, but it used to also be offered for the arts, public issues, environment and international studies. I was a finalist in vocal music when it was offered in the arts. I believe they only took eight kids...SSAATTBB. There was something like 650 vocal applicants, but only 40 (five per voice part) of us made it to the final audition round. I ended up placing third among the five soprano 1s, but I felt it was pretty respectable since I got sick on audition day. It was a lovely blend of heavy upper respiratory congestion meets stomach flu with a 103+ fever. There's nothing quite like throwing up, coughing up a bunch of gunk, having a runny nose, feeling light headed and having sing. Ultimately, my poor sight reading abilities would have been my undoing even if I had been well. I also wasn't too keen on spending a chunk of my summer doing just music, so your program sounds much better.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

There hasn't been much in the way of working out over the last few days, unless you count Sunday and yesterday where I played ball girl for Sam's batting lessons. I'm not in the alley the entire time, but she goes through buckets so quickly that it feels like every three minutes, I'm running around with big buckets of balls squatting to pick up for the next round. She does help too. At least we didn't turn Super Bowl or Valentine's Day into pig out holidays. Instead of heavy appetizers or chips and seven layer dip, I did a crudite with sugar snap peas, carrots, and tomatoes. Dinner was grilled chicken (balsamic marinade) sandwiches with baked steak fries. The bolillo rolls I bought for the sandwiches were so heavy that I wound up discarding the roll after a couple of bites. We got in some college softball on Sunday before the Super Bowl, so the day at least had some walking around the UofH campus and a little bit of stadium step climbing. Valentine's Day isn't big in our house, so David bought some cupcakes and I made myself some eggs for dinner. The red frosting on the cupcakes is so bitter that I won't be having a second. After seeing @Sans Souci posting about kettle bells, I think I may stay in tonight and do that to some music.

 

[Songbird76]

Oh OK. It sounded like it was a college credit program being offered to high schoolers, but maybe I misunderstood. It sounds like a great program! It's making me think of a conversation we recently had with Kendall. While not any particular program, a lot of colleges now look favorably on high school kids taking college courses over the summer. So, she's meeting with her counselor later this week to see what she might be able to add. Your humor class sounds like a lot of fun, but also interesting. Jealous that you got to work with rats. I would have probably gotten some rat work if I had gone for a BS, but the BA students didn't get any of that. The closest I got was looking at drug impacts on sheep brains. I would have loved the animal class. There are times when I wonder if I would have been better off with a major based on animals and wildlife. That's funny that you declined MLB baseball and still got a baseball movie. Of course, that movie is a huge fave in our house. I swear, Sam will watch it any time she sees it on tv. Back in her younger days and dress up Halloween tournaments, that was one of the more popular team costumes. It's too bad there were no college credits awarded, but it still sounds like a great program. NJ has something kind of like that for high school juniors (summer between jr and sr year), but it's changed over the years. The current program only caters to STEM, but it used to also be offered for the arts, public issues, environment and international studies. I was a finalist in vocal music when it was offered in the arts. I believe they only took eight kids...SSAATTBB. There was something like 650 vocal applicants, but only 40 (five per voice part) of us made it to the final audition round. I ended up placing third among the five soprano 1s, but I felt it was pretty respectable since I got sick on audition day. It was a lovely blend of heavy upper respiratory congestion meets stomach flu with a 103+ fever. There's nothing quite like throwing up, coughing up a bunch of gunk, having a runny nose, feeling light headed and having sing. Ultimately, my poor sight reading abilities would have been my undoing even if I had been well. I also wasn't too keen on spending a chunk of my summer doing just music, so your program sounds much better.

Yeah, Wyoming does have a couple of programs now that help underprivileged kids with going to college. There's a program called Upward Bound, and I think that one is pretty much all summer. It's a similar program to the one I did, but I believe it's more geared towards kids who aren't doing so well in their schools and they want to get them on a path towards college. I'm not entirely sure, though. I only know about it, because when I was in college, I worked at the front desks in the dorms, and we had all the Summer camps and conferences who stayed in the dorms. One of them was Upward Bound, as well as the one I did in high school called High School Summer Institute. And then when I graduated college, I came back to be a program coordinator (camp counselor type) for High School Summer Institute for a couple of years, and we shared dorms with the Upward Bound kids. There was another one that was STEM-based where they actually took Summer classes to get ahead while they were still in high school. That one was called Bridge, and there were a couple kids in my Summer Astronomy class with me. As far as I know, those programs didn't exist when I was in high school, but it might just be that my counselor hated me and wasn't going to do anything that would help me with my future.

I enjoyed working with the rats. We didn't really do much...the teacher would inject a small amount of caffeine into a few rats, and we had a control group, and we'd do experienments like put each rat in a box with a little bar in it and put 1 paw up on that bar and see how long they'd leave it there before moving it. The ones with caffeine just moved right away.....you couldn't even time it because they just wouldn't stand still. Anyway, it was really fascinating and they were lab bred rats, not street rats, but kids thought they were dirty or gross or whatever. We had gloves to use and could wash our hands right after, so I don't see what the big deal was....it was certainly a lot better to me than disecting, which I HATED.

A league of their own is a great movie, but maybe just a slightly odd choice as an alternative for those who weren't really into baseball and didn't care about seeing a live game. I remember it was cold and rainy that afternoon and the game was later and they weren't even sure it wouldn't get canceled with the weather. I was glad I had chosen not to go, because it sounded miserable to have to sit there in the rain and watch something I wasn't interested in. But in hindsight, I wish I had stayed. The rain stopped and the sun came out, so it was good weather, everyone said it was lots of fun. I think they even got on TV, and they took the whole group to Casa Bonita for dinner, which was some Mexican restaurant that has live entertainment or something? Everyone always raved about it. Those of us who went home early got boxed lunches. So that was less fun. They should have made some arrangements for us to do something else fun. The program has actually grown a lot since I went. My understanding is that they do 2 sessions per summer now and have more enrichment programs for the kids. I'm glad more kids get the opportunity. I felt bad when I went, because I knew that if I had been from a bigger school, I'd never have been accepted....it was only because they try to accept at least one kid from every school that sends in applications, and I was the only one from my school who applied that I got in. I always kind of felt like a fraud....like I took some other kid's place, who was smarter, more talented, deserved it more. I'm grateful for the experience, but there are SO many kids who deserved it who DIDN'T get in. It's nice that they take more kids now. It's an amazing program...I made lifelong friendships there, met my first boyfriend there....and my 2nd boyfriend....and my 3rd who I accidentally ended up engaged to, but that's a long story for another time. But it really was life-changing for me and it was the first place outside of school activities where I felt accepted by kids my own age rather than a pariah. It was pretty much the closest thing to utopia that I had ever experienced. I didn't want to go home at the end. If you have any such programs in Texas, I highly recommend trying to get the kids into one. Even if there's no college credit associated with it. There wasn't with mine, but it was still probably the best experience I had in high school, and I have some of the BEST memories from it, not to mention networking with College professors, professionals, and other students. One of the guys in my brother's year who I met through speech and debate is some high profile lawyer who has worked with Congress and has been an advisor on Muslim issues including Sharia law. Another is a published author and a friend of mine. One of the guys who was in my year and who I'm still friends with volunteers with a high school building battle robot things for some big contest. It's a great opportunity to meet some future leaders and just all around cool people.

 

[Songbird76]

I can't wait to get out of quarantine and go for a nice long walk. I'm getting cabin fever. But I can't really do anything anyway. Just climbing the stairs leaves me exhausted, and I only do that a couple of times a day to go grab food to take back to my cell....er....bedroom. It really kicked my rear this time. I've had a headache pretty much every day since Friday. My fever is finally gone, but I'm still tired and have no energy. I just want to get back to routine and go out and get some fresh air and exercise!!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah, Wyoming does have a couple of programs now that help underprivileged kids with going to college. There's a program called Upward Bound, and I think that one is pretty much all summer. It's a similar program to the one I did, but I believe it's more geared towards kids who aren't doing so well in their schools and they want to get them on a path towards college. I'm not entirely sure, though. I only know about it, because when I was in college, I worked at the front desks in the dorms, and we had all the Summer camps and conferences who stayed in the dorms. One of them was Upward Bound, as well as the one I did in high school called High School Summer Institute. And then when I graduated college, I came back to be a program coordinator (camp counselor type) for High School Summer Institute for a couple of years, and we shared dorms with the Upward Bound kids. There was another one that was STEM-based where they actually took Summer classes to get ahead while they were still in high school. That one was called Bridge, and there were a couple kids in my Summer Astronomy class with me. As far as I know, those programs didn't exist when I was in high school, but it might just be that my counselor hated me and wasn't going to do anything that would help me with my future.

I enjoyed working with the rats. We didn't really do much...the teacher would inject a small amount of caffeine into a few rats, and we had a control group, and we'd do experienments like put each rat in a box with a little bar in it and put 1 paw up on that bar and see how long they'd leave it there before moving it. The ones with caffeine just moved right away.....you couldn't even time it because they just wouldn't stand still. Anyway, it was really fascinating and they were lab bred rats, not street rats, but kids thought they were dirty or gross or whatever. We had gloves to use and could wash our hands right after, so I don't see what the big deal was....it was certainly a lot better to me than disecting, which I HATED.

A league of their own is a great movie, but maybe just a slightly odd choice as an alternative for those who weren't really into baseball and didn't care about seeing a live game. I remember it was cold and rainy that afternoon and the game was later and they weren't even sure it wouldn't get canceled with the weather. I was glad I had chosen not to go, because it sounded miserable to have to sit there in the rain and watch something I wasn't interested in. But in hindsight, I wish I had stayed. The rain stopped and the sun came out, so it was good weather, everyone said it was lots of fun. I think they even got on TV, and they took the whole group to Casa Bonita for dinner, which was some Mexican restaurant that has live entertainment or something? Everyone always raved about it. Those of us who went home early got boxed lunches. So that was less fun. They should have made some arrangements for us to do something else fun. The program has actually grown a lot since I went. My understanding is that they do 2 sessions per summer now and have more enrichment programs for the kids. I'm glad more kids get the opportunity. I felt bad when I went, because I knew that if I had been from a bigger school, I'd never have been accepted....it was only because they try to accept at least one kid from every school that sends in applications, and I was the only one from my school who applied that I got in. I always kind of felt like a fraud....like I took some other kid's place, who was smarter, more talented, deserved it more. I'm grateful for the experience, but there are SO many kids who deserved it who DIDN'T get in. It's nice that they take more kids now. It's an amazing program...I made lifelong friendships there, met my first boyfriend there....and my 2nd boyfriend....and my 3rd who I accidentally ended up engaged to, but that's a long story for another time. But it really was life-changing for me and it was the first place outside of school activities where I felt accepted by kids my own age rather than a pariah. It was pretty much the closest thing to utopia that I had ever experienced. I didn't want to go home at the end. If you have any such programs in Texas, I highly recommend trying to get the kids into one. Even if there's no college credit associated with it. There wasn't with mine, but it was still probably the best experience I had in high school, and I have some of the BEST memories from it, not to mention networking with College professors, professionals, and other students. One of the guys in my brother's year who I met through speech and debate is some high profile lawyer who has worked with Congress and has been an advisor on Muslim issues including Sharia law. Another is a published author and a friend of mine. One of the guys who was in my year and who I'm still friends with volunteers with a high school building battle robot things for some big contest. It's a great opportunity to meet some future leaders and just all around cool people.

I've seen Upward Bound here too. These seem to be the qualification terms: Students must have completed the 8th grade, be between the ages of 13 and 19, and have a need for academic support in order to pursue a program of postsecondary education. All students must be either from low-income families or be potential first-generation college students. The program requires that two-thirds of the participants in a project must be both low-income and potential first-generation students. The remaining one-third must be either low-income, first-generation college students, or students who have a high risk for academic failure. While I wouldn't consider most of us wealthy, our school tends to be classified as better off, so you don't really hear about programs like this for our kids. What's funny...Sam just got an invite to join the district's IB program. She won't be doing it because it puts her at the scariest high school in our district. It's only 8.5 miles away, but in rush hour, that's easily a 30-40 minute drive each way. It will also keep her from being eligible to play varsity freshman year and would take her off the track for her career preferences.

We saw lots of videos on rats, especially when going over the details of the Skinner Box, but I never got to work with them. Yeah, lab rats and pet rats aren't like street rats. I didn't mind dissection, but I always needed more instruction and preferred it in a classroom session. I was pretty appalled when I when I was sent home with a fetal pig during my junior year. I'd dissected one in high school, but never had to bring it home. With Kendall changing her focus to science, I was happy to hear that she loves dissection.

It was definitely an odd choice for a group of kids who chose not to watch baseball. It's unfortunate that they didn't come up with something equally fun for those who chose to opt out of baseball, especially when there are so many things to do in that area. I'd never heard of Casa Bonita, but according to their website, it's world renowned and will be having a grand re-opening this year. It looks pretty. Kendall recently had similar fraud feelings when she attended Model UN. They were the only kids in their school who wanted to go, but the bulk of the kids in attendance were from expensive private schools where the kids had to compete against many others to be selected by their schools' organizers to attend. I haven't seen anything like your program with our school, but it certainly sounds like it was a really great experience.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Well, I didn't get in my workout last night as planned and I decided to sleep in if my body allowed it. I did 30 minutes of kettlebell work during lunch today. Nothing crazy, but I've been in a Broadway mood, so that helped fuel the workout. Although, it is a little bit dangerous swinging around weights when you want to go into a song and dance number. Softball will finally be starting up and we've got a tournament this weekend at a place with a nice walking track. So, I may be doing some walking in between games.

I also have something a little more physical planned for my day off on Monday. My AeroGarden efforts have been going pretty well with some things. That herb taking over the left side of the garden is blue borage. We have that area on the side of our driveway that had hibiscus growing. They haven't flowered since the freeze exactly 2 years ago and I think the freeze around this past Christmas may have officially killed them. I'm not ripping them out just yet, but there's a spot towards the back that would make for a good herb (and possibly veggie) garden. So, I'll be turning over the soil in that section, adding some Miracle Grow potting mix, and transplanting the blue borage. I may also move the dill that's coming in on the left. After a cool snap these next few days, we're supposed to be in the 70s and 80s, so the timing seems appropriate. The only herb in my garden that's really struggling is the sage, but I'm giving it another try. I previously had problems with cilantro, but tried again and now it seems to be growing.

 

[Songbird76]

I've seen Upward Bound here too. These seem to be the qualification terms: Students must have completed the 8th grade, be between the ages of 13 and 19, and have a need for academic support in order to pursue a program of postsecondary education. All students must be either from low-income families or be potential first-generation college students. The program requires that two-thirds of the participants in a project must be both low-income and potential first-generation students. The remaining one-third must be either low-income, first-generation college students, or students who have a high risk for academic failure. While I wouldn't consider most of us wealthy, our school tends to be classified as better off, so you don't really hear about programs like this for our kids. What's funny...Sam just got an invite to join the district's IB program. She won't be doing it because it puts her at the scariest high school in our district. It's only 8.5 miles away, but in rush hour, that's easily a 30-40 minute drive each way. It will also keep her from being eligible to play varsity freshman year and would take her off the track for her career preferences.

We saw lots of videos on rats, especially when going over the details of the Skinner Box, but I never got to work with them. Yeah, lab rats and pet rats aren't like street rats. I didn't mind dissection, but I always needed more instruction and preferred it in a classroom session. I was pretty appalled when I when I was sent home with a fetal pig during my junior year. I'd dissected one in high school, but never had to bring it home. With Kendall changing her focus to science, I was happy to hear that she loves dissection.

It was definitely an odd choice for a group of kids who chose not to watch baseball. It's unfortunate that they didn't come up with something equally fun for those who chose to opt out of baseball, especially when there are so many things to do in that area. I'd never heard of Casa Bonita, but according to their website, it's world renowned and will be having a grand re-opening this year. It looks pretty. Kendall recently had similar fraud feelings when she attended Model UN. They were the only kids in their school who wanted to go, but the bulk of the kids in attendance were from expensive private schools where the kids had to compete against many others to be selected by their schools' organizers to attend. I haven't seen anything like your program with our school, but it certainly sounds like it was a really great experience.

Ah, yeah that sounds about right for Upward Bound. I would have qualified on the low-income and first-generation college points, but not risk for academic failure. The kids who did the program seemed to like it, but I remember there being a lot of outdoors stuff like hikes and camping involved, which wouldn't have been my thing. We went camping when I was a kid, but I really didn't like bugs and the whole no access to toilets or showers was not a good selling point. Now as an adult, I love nature, but not so much that I would give up the comforts of a bed and a bathroom and an actual kitchen. I'm too spoiled now.

What is IB there? Here, it's International Baccalaureate, which is learning a different language and culture. E has IB class for her dual immersion program. I'm guessing it's different there?

E doesn't mind disection either, but they haven't done full animals. They did a heart, and an eyeball....those are the only things I can think of off the top of my head. We always had to do the full animal and find different organs. We did Fish, frogs, starfish, earthworms, fetal pigs....it just wasn't my thing. E finds it interesting.

Model UN....is that kind of like girls state? That's another program I wasn't told about. They HAD it, but I didn't know about it. There was also something called Hobi or Hoby or something that was for Junior year, and a lot of kids I went to HSI with did that the next year, and my counselor went straight to someone else he wanted to go and asked her directly to apply and didn't tell anyone else about it. And I don't think anyone from my school went to girls state, but that wouldn't have necessarily been my thing anyway. I had no interest in politics or in actual debate back then. I was on the speech and debate team, but we had no debaters. But I get the impression that that's what model UN is? Like a mock government type thing?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Ah, yeah that sounds about right for Upward Bound. I would have qualified on the low-income and first-generation college points, but not risk for academic failure. The kids who did the program seemed to like it, but I remember there being a lot of outdoors stuff like hikes and camping involved, which wouldn't have been my thing. We went camping when I was a kid, but I really didn't like bugs and the whole no access to toilets or showers was not a good selling point. Now as an adult, I love nature, but not so much that I would give up the comforts of a bed and a bathroom and an actual kitchen. I'm too spoiled now.

What is IB there? Here, it's International Baccalaureate, which is learning a different language and culture. E has IB class for her dual immersion program. I'm guessing it's different there?

E doesn't mind disection either, but they haven't done full animals. They did a heart, and an eyeball....those are the only things I can think of off the top of my head. We always had to do the full animal and find different organs. We did Fish, frogs, starfish, earthworms, fetal pigs....it just wasn't my thing. E finds it interesting.

Model UN....is that kind of like girls state? That's another program I wasn't told about. They HAD it, but I didn't know about it. There was also something called Hobi or Hoby or something that was for Junior year, and a lot of kids I went to HSI with did that the next year, and my counselor went straight to someone else he wanted to go and asked her directly to apply and didn't tell anyone else about it. And I don't think anyone from my school went to girls state, but that wouldn't have necessarily been my thing anyway. I had no interest in politics or in actual debate back then. I was on the speech and debate team, but we had no debaters. But I get the impression that that's what model UN is? Like a mock government type thing?

At first, it had me thinking you were talking about Outward Bound, which is more for troubled youths. As much as I like nature, I'm with you on the comforts of a real bed and bathroom. As it is, I need a lot of stuff to make any kind of camping enjoyable.

It's also International Baccalaureate over here, but the description of the program for our district sounds different. The first two years sound like there are extra clubs, field trips, organization participation requirements, and projects to add the international aspect. Junior and senior year seem to expand more into international matters as well as more college level courses. It looks like the IB student graduates with a minimum of 24 college credits, so there's a heavy focus on earning college credits in HS. I don't see anything about language or culture, but it's probably wrapped into everything. Sam won't be applying. Aside from it being done in the very worst part of our district and being a lot of driving (not to mention the sports eligibility issues with a transfer), I've seen kids have issues with college acceptance with IB. It's probably improved since then, but it's left too much worry in my mind. It wasn't available in my district, but it was for my brother's school and there were big problems. He ended up going a different route, because he was accepted to a high school that's an offshoot of the University of Florida, but the kids who stayed at his previous school and got into IB had problems. Sam also needs to think about sports eligibility. She'd really like to play in college and coaches want kids who will have 4-5 years of eligibility. A kid who earns a bunch of college credits in high school may look great to the admissions reps, but it's a red flag for anything athletic.

I know K has dissected a rat, but I can't recall what else. I had to do a cow's eye in animal bio, as well as a fetal pig, frog, grasshopper, earth worm, and some other stuff in other bio classes.

Model UN is the United Nations. Not sure if it'll pull up, but this is the link to the US site. https://unausa.org/model-un/ The school club does this on a much smaller scale. They assign roles, pick several major world issues, you are given your role's stance on those issues, and you have to research the logic/culture/etc. behind your stance before going into deliberation and debate against the other roles. There are all kinds of write ups/essays and statements also involved in the protocol. The big conference she recently attended was intended to be more of a mockup of an actual meeting of the UN. I can't recall which country K represented, but she was in the role of some high-ranking naval officer with the authority to launch a nuclear assault. She still really enjoys this and will be participating again next year (likely to be one of several clubs where she'll be president), but she's going to swap out some law-based classes for science/health science classes to look more appealing to colleges as a bio major. She's had upper level science and math throughout high school and done very well. Plus she's in their health sciences club and has been part of their blood drive committee. Still, every little bit she can do to keep up in this competitive environment.

 

[Songbird76]

At first, it had me thinking you were talking about Outward Bound, which is more for troubled youths. As much as I like nature, I'm with you on the comforts of a real bed and bathroom. As it is, I need a lot of stuff to make any kind of camping enjoyable.

It's also International Baccalaureate over here, but the description of the program for our district sounds different. The first two years sound like there are extra clubs, field trips, organization participation requirements, and projects to add the international aspect. Junior and senior year seem to expand more into international matters as well as more college level courses. It looks like the IB student graduates with a minimum of 24 college credits, so there's a heavy focus on earning college credits in HS. I don't see anything about language or culture, but it's probably wrapped into everything. Sam won't be applying. Aside from it being done in the very worst part of our district and being a lot of driving (not to mention the sports eligibility issues with a transfer), I've seen kids have issues with college acceptance with IB. It's probably improved since then, but it's left too much worry in my mind. It wasn't available in my district, but it was for my brother's school and there were big problems. He ended up going a different route, because he was accepted to a high school that's an offshoot of the University of Florida, but the kids who stayed at his previous school and got into IB had problems. Sam also needs to think about sports eligibility. She'd really like to play in college and coaches want kids who will have 4-5 years of eligibility. A kid who earns a bunch of college credits in high school may look great to the admissions reps, but it's a red flag for anything athletic.

I know K has dissected a rat, but I can't recall what else. I had to do a cow's eye in animal bio, as well as a fetal pig, frog, grasshopper, earth worm, and some other stuff in other bio classes.

Model UN is the United Nations. Not sure if it'll pull up, but this is the link to the US site. https://unausa.org/model-un/ The school club does this on a much smaller scale. They assign roles, pick several major world issues, you are given your role's stance on those issues, and you have to research the logic/culture/etc. behind your stance before going into deliberation and debate against the other roles. There are all kinds of write ups/essays and statements also involved in the protocol. The big conference she recently attended was intended to be more of a mockup of an actual meeting of the UN. I can't recall which country K represented, but she was in the role of some high-ranking naval officer with the authority to launch a nuclear assault. She still really enjoys this and will be participating again next year (likely to be one of several clubs where she'll be president), but she's going to swap out some law-based classes for science/health science classes to look more appealing to colleges as a bio major. She's had upper level science and math throughout high school and done very well. Plus she's in their health sciences club and has been part of their blood drive committee. Still, every little bit she can do to keep up in this competitive environment.

I think we had Outward Bound as well, but I'm not sure.

IB here is basically to help the kids if they eventually want to work in a foreign country, I think. It's a continuation of the dual immersion program E's doing. For their first 3 years, they are supposed to get 60% of their lessons in English and 40% in Dutch, so they speak fluently by their 4th year. Then starting in 4th year, they go back to Dutch lessons, but instead of English class, they have IB. It IS in English, but they study all sorts of different things within English and American culture. They studied a bit about the revolutionary war I think, and they did a unit on WWI poetry written by a guy who survived it, but was injured and in some military hospital in England. Then there's this theater group here that has British actors, and they put together these little theater programs for students in dual immersion programs. They have one about the Victorian Era and how horrible it was for children, and different jobs children had that were all deadly, like working in mines, or cleaning chimneys. They do a workshop during the day and perform for the parents in the evening. They also did a shakespeare one a year or so ago, but there was no performance for parents because of corona. A couple of weeks ago, they did one based on the WWI poetry they studied. It's actually quite devastating, but really gets the kids engaged and they learn a lot from it. They had to pretend to be soldiers, a lot of whom actually lied about their ages because you had to be 18 to fight. The kids got to play different roles...people who received the white feathers because they didn't want to fight. People who dug the trenches, medics, etc....they played a soccer match with "enemy forces" on Christmas. E got to find a rat while grabbing supplies and scream. Apparently they did an audition. No one volunteered, so the guy made them all scream, and she was the loudest, so she got to do that and she had so much fun with it. Normally, they'd go for a week in London and Oxford and stay with host families, but that trip was canceled. They were supposed to go in March of 2020. They were preparing on the Friday because they were leaving on the Monday when they heard it was canceled. Then Monday the school was already in lockdown. So instead of being on the way to London, they were all at home trying to figure out remote learning. They were also supposed to do a sort of exchange with some kids from Germany, but that got canceled for Corona, too. They ended up just exchanging recipes with the German kids and learning how to make something traditional from Germany. They had groups and each group had to exchange and make a recipe from a group from Germany. They had to do an internship in an English-Speaking environment. She's going to Italy in April on a week-long exchange with school, but that's her whole year of VWO level, not just the IB kids. But the basic program is to improve their English and their knowledge of English-speaking countries by learning about history, geography, and culture. Is that what yours is? I mean, obviously, not the English part, but learning the history and culture of foreign lands? It's too bad it's not compatible with athletics. You'd think they'd make that easier because schools want well-rounded students.

Now that you mention it, I think we did grasshoppers, too. Something with like an exoskeleton...ugh. I really didn't like dissection.

Yeah, that's what I thought it was. We didn't have that when I was in school. Or at least my school had nothing like that. Why is she trading the law stuff for Bio? I thought she wanted to be a lawyer?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I think we had Outward Bound as well, but I'm not sure.

IB here is basically to help the kids if they eventually want to work in a foreign country, I think. It's a continuation of the dual immersion program E's doing. For their first 3 years, they are supposed to get 60% of their lessons in English and 40% in Dutch, so they speak fluently by their 4th year. Then starting in 4th year, they go back to Dutch lessons, but instead of English class, they have IB. It IS in English, but they study all sorts of different things within English and American culture. They studied a bit about the revolutionary war I think, and they did a unit on WWI poetry written by a guy who survived it, but was injured and in some military hospital in England. Then there's this theater group here that has British actors, and they put together these little theater programs for students in dual immersion programs. They have one about the Victorian Era and how horrible it was for children, and different jobs children had that were all deadly, like working in mines, or cleaning chimneys. They do a workshop during the day and perform for the parents in the evening. They also did a shakespeare one a year or so ago, but there was no performance for parents because of corona. A couple of weeks ago, they did one based on the WWI poetry they studied. It's actually quite devastating, but really gets the kids engaged and they learn a lot from it. They had to pretend to be soldiers, a lot of whom actually lied about their ages because you had to be 18 to fight. The kids got to play different roles...people who received the white feathers because they didn't want to fight. People who dug the trenches, medics, etc....they played a soccer match with "enemy forces" on Christmas. E got to find a rat while grabbing supplies and scream. Apparently they did an audition. No one volunteered, so the guy made them all scream, and she was the loudest, so she got to do that and she had so much fun with it. Normally, they'd go for a week in London and Oxford and stay with host families, but that trip was canceled. They were supposed to go in March of 2020. They were preparing on the Friday because they were leaving on the Monday when they heard it was canceled. Then Monday the school was already in lockdown. So instead of being on the way to London, they were all at home trying to figure out remote learning. They were also supposed to do a sort of exchange with some kids from Germany, but that got canceled for Corona, too. They ended up just exchanging recipes with the German kids and learning how to make something traditional from Germany. They had groups and each group had to exchange and make a recipe from a group from Germany. They had to do an internship in an English-Speaking environment. She's going to Italy in April on a week-long exchange with school, but that's her whole year of VWO level, not just the IB kids. But the basic program is to improve their English and their knowledge of English-speaking countries by learning about history, geography, and culture. Is that what yours is? I mean, obviously, not the English part, but learning the history and culture of foreign lands? It's too bad it's not compatible with athletics. You'd think they'd make that easier because schools want well-rounded students.

Now that you mention it, I think we did grasshoppers, too. Something with like an exoskeleton...ugh. I really didn't like dissection.

Yeah, that's what I thought it was. We didn't have that when I was in school. Or at least my school had nothing like that. Why is she trading the law stuff for Bio? I thought she wanted to be a lawyer?

I know we’ve seen some ranches used by Outward Bound when driving in the west. Supposed you have to be a major disciplinary problem to qualify.

From what I’ve read, the IB programs have all been established for the same purposes, but the American ones seem to be managed differently. What I’ve read on our district version seems more focused on attaining college credits while in high school with some attention to foreign cultures and relations. A lot of what I read was trying to assuage fears that they wouldn’t miss out by being in something different from more traditional AP and dual enrollment programs.

It’s complicated, but she was hoping law would be a good starting point to make her way up in the justice system to become a Federal judge OR transition from practicing law into government office. While Model UN isn’t an exact replica of real world, the overall concept (while fun) made her start thinking about what she could stomach day in and day out. She’s extremely argumentative and really good with details, but the more she does debate and diplomacy things, the more she’s thinking this isn’t her path. She’s really come to love science and is great with kids, so seeing her go for something in pediatrics would be another good fit. You can also make a much better living with a Bio BS vs a Government/Poli Sci BA if you decide not to pursue the higher level degree.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Whew!!! It was our first weekend back at the softball fields. I never got to do more traditional walking on the path at the park on Saturday, but we did trek back and forth a lot, which amounted to several miles. I was either lugging my heavy backpack or pulling the cart, so it was never just walking. Sunday was at a different facility, so it wasn’t as much walking.

While the kids had school yesterday, I was off for the holiday and used some of it for some unconventional exercise. A couple of the herbs in the hydroponics garden were getting really big and I didn’t want another case of one dominant strangling the others. So I went to Lowe’s right after school drop off to grab a big bag of potting soil. I skipped the cart and carried that thing. Once home, I grabbed the big shovel and planting trowel and got to digging. It’s only about a 4’x4’ area, but I turned the existing soil, dumped in the potting mix, turned it again to blend it, pulled out the weeds and roots, and then it was planting time. It’s only two herbs so far that have been transplanted, but it was still some squatting and crouching to get the spots prepped and the plants transferred. At the end of it all, I installed some ground stake metal fencing. I also have plenty of room to expand. Today…I’m sitting at the car dealership. Hopefully this doesn’t take forever.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

It's been a while since any of us posted. Hope all is well with everyone.

I wanted to share that we decided to quit the gym.

Schedules have just proven to be too demanding and the drive to the closest PF is just too far to make it worth it. It wasn't overly expensive for the black membership, but that's around $30 a month pp that we'll get back in our pockets. We have an LA Fitness going in about 5 minutes from home, so he wants to consider that once it opens. We'll see. I am trying to get more movement back into my life. Things like working from home and grocery pickup are great, but it means I'm moving less. Yesterday, I decided to start a divide and conquer approach to getting out of this sedentary funk. I took three separate walks during the day that were each about 1.05 miles. I also got up several times during my workday for exercises. Most was normal stuff I had been doing (but haven't in a bit)...ya know, some stuff with the hand weights, squats, kettlebells, barre kicks, etc. I also added in some abs and opened up the resistance bands to help work my hips and legs. I don't know how well I can keep this up with the rain we're expecting this week, but I'm off to a good start today. I did a small 1.15 mile walk around 7am and a round of hand weights, calf raises, and kettlebell. It's something.

 

[Figgy1]

It's been a while since any of us posted. Hope all is well with everyone.

I wanted to share that we decided to quit the gym.

Schedules have just proven to be too demanding and the drive to the closest PF is just too far to make it worth it. It wasn't overly expensive for the black membership, but that's around $30 a month pp that we'll get back in our pockets. We have an LA Fitness going in about 5 minutes from home, so he wants to consider that once it opens. We'll see. I am trying to get more movement back into my life. Things like working from home and grocery pickup are great, but it means I'm moving less. Yesterday, I decided to start a divide and conquer approach to getting out of this sedentary funk. I took three separate walks during the day that were each about 1.05 miles. I also got up several times during my workday for exercises. Most was normal stuff I had been doing (but haven't in a bit)...ya know, some stuff with the hand weights, squats, kettlebells, barre kicks, etc. I also added in some abs and opened up the resistance bands to help work my hips and legs. I don't know how well I can keep this up with the rain we're expecting this week, but I'm off to a good start today. I did a small 1.15 mile walk around 7am and a round of hand weights, calf raises, and kettlebell. It's something.

THNX for asking all is well! nothing new except I finally made it outside today for a walk

 

[Figgy1]

 

[Songbird76]

It's been a while since any of us posted. Hope all is well with everyone.

I wanted to share that we decided to quit the gym.

Schedules have just proven to be too demanding and the drive to the closest PF is just too far to make it worth it. It wasn't overly expensive for the black membership, but that's around $30 a month pp that we'll get back in our pockets. We have an LA Fitness going in about 5 minutes from home, so he wants to consider that once it opens. We'll see. I am trying to get more movement back into my life. Things like working from home and grocery pickup are great, but it means I'm moving less. Yesterday, I decided to start a divide and conquer approach to getting out of this sedentary funk. I took three separate walks during the day that were each about 1.05 miles. I also got up several times during my workday for exercises. Most was normal stuff I had been doing (but haven't in a bit)...ya know, some stuff with the hand weights, squats, kettlebells, barre kicks, etc. I also added in some abs and opened up the resistance bands to help work my hips and legs. I don't know how well I can keep this up with the rain we're expecting this week, but I'm off to a good start today. I did a small 1.15 mile walk around 7am and a round of hand weights, calf raises, and kettlebell. It's something.

When does the LA Fitness open? Gym memberships here are just too expensive for what they offer. Most of them don't have evening hours, or if they do, it's only until 7pm or something, so by the time you are done with a workday and have dinner, it's too late. That wasn't a problem for me when I was working the evenings, but it was still just too expensive. But now I lost my job because they cut the evening shift, I got a new job, and my hours will be daytime hours. The upside is that I will have to ride my bike there because my husband will still have the car during the day, and it's over 6 KM from my house to get there. So I'll at least get some cardio in getting to work again.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

When does the LA Fitness open? Gym memberships here are just too expensive for what they offer. Most of them don't have evening hours, or if they do, it's only until 7pm or something, so by the time you are done with a workday and have dinner, it's too late. That wasn't a problem for me when I was working the evenings, but it was still just too expensive. But now I lost my job because they cut the evening shift, I got a new job, and my hours will be daytime hours. The upside is that I will have to ride my bike there because my husband will still have the car during the day, and it's over 6 KM from my house to get there. So I'll at least get some cardio in getting to work again.

It just says "Coming Soon." We can see the construction in progress, but it looks like they have a long way to go. They're converting a space that was previously a large supermarket. I would imagine the indoor pool is the reason it's taking longer than we'd expected. The other local locations are open 5am-11pm, so I think we can make it work on weekdays.

I'm sorry you lost your job, but that does sound like good exercise with the biking to and from work.