Carnival: If You Came to My House Today

***Updated!!!! For some reason the Mr Linky link is requiring that you click on it to add your link, or see the links of those already posted. Be sure to click the Mr. Linky page to go Visit Others at Their House Today!***

Step right up!

For three tickets, or the price of linking your blog up in Mr. Linky (below), you can join this carnival!

If you don't have a blog, then just look around, and enjoy the ride!

I will leave this carnival open all weekend. But then I'm packing it up and we're movin' on into the next week of blogging.

***if you are unsure as to what a carnival is, or what this carnival is about, click here.***

With out further adieu:

If You Came To My House Today...

If you came to my house today. Yes!
You'd see that I've much here to say, But
The talk is diversion,
For those with aversion,
from the dog hair that lies yonder way.

(And those are also framed pictures that I have yet to hang up since we moved back....its only been a year. See...that fur ball almost blends in with the hardwood.)

If you came to my house today...
You'd see that the sky is quite gray,
Inside we'd be warm
From that cold, wet storm.
Sipping coffee, or tea, hooray!

If you came to my house today...
You'd see my desk's great dismay.
This cre-a-tive mind,
Is messy you'll find,
For she crafts as if at a buffet.

If you came to my house today...
You'd see this brown couch right away.
We'd sit and we'd chat.
I excel at that!
We'd be happy with our small soiree.

If you came to my house today...
You'd not see perfection. No way!
There's dirt, socks, and dust.
Wash pile is robust...
But I'd choose friendship o'er work anyday!

Coming soon: Carnival!!!

Who doesn't love a carnival?

The rides. The fried bacon.

The homemade jam. The fried bacon.

The men with missing teeth running the rickety rides. The fried bacon.

.....uh, wait a minute.

Scratch that.....

I'm not a huge lover of bacon. Although frying can make some things better.

Case in point, I went to a Cuban restaurant last night. I had the Ropa Vieja. It was delicious! But the best part? The fried green bean appetizers dipped in guacamole.

Mmm Mmm good!

But that's not why I am here today.

Where were we? oh yes! Carnivals.

I'm having one right here at the La Vida House on Friday.

Admission?

You write something to finish this prompt:

If you came to my house today...

You can make a list. Write an essay. Do a pictorial. Make a cartoon. Have a puppet show. Whatever. Just tell me what would happen if I, and a million people from the WWW came to your house today....or tomorrow, or  6am in the morning when you were supposed to be having quiet time. (Not that I know anything about that.)

When you've finished writing, come on over here and put your link into Mr. Linky.

Sorry, no fried bacon, but I assure you that when you ride on this bloggy ride you'll get a full-toothed smile.

Now, for an about-face, and with as much sincerity and respect I can give to the written word, I want to say this....

It's Veterans Day.

The kids and I have been studying the Civil War.

600,000 Americans died in that war.

Men and women have fought (and fight!) for this country... To win the right for me to sit here, and sip my coffee, and type these words.

I am the daughter of a Veteran who served in Vietnam.

I am the wife of a Veteran who served in the Gulf War, and who still serves his country today.

I am proud of those who serve the greatest country in the world.

To these veterans and to the ones I have never met, thank you.

Carnival: What I've Learned This Week

I am going to participate in Jo-Lynne's (of Musings of a Housewife) carnival this week.

If you haven't heard about it, its not too late to join.

So what have I learned this week?

I have learned that there are many places in which I live my life through insecurity.

Deep huh? 

Well, it is deep. Almost deep enough that I am not sure I can write about it without typing on forever. But I am going to give it a try.

In fifth grade I was in Mr. Pollard's class. 

He didn't like me.

At all.

At this point in my young life as a  student I had already decided I was terrible in math.

I just didn't get it. 

In fifth-grade I had an experience that would start a life-long issue that I am going to spend this year purposefully battling.

In fifth grade Mr. Pollard called me to the board and made me stand there for a very long time, while he belittled me for not knowing what 8x7 was. 

After standing there being yelled at in front of my peers, and not being able to think, much less write 56 on the board, he proceeded to tell me that I had wasted his time, and the entire fifth grade class time. Now, he would waste  my time; I would spend both recess and lunch writing 8 x 7 = 56 on a piece of paper over and over again. 

I do believe that that day, at the age of 10 I decided I would never again waste anybody's time with my incompetence in math. I managed to get through enough math to pass high school and college. How I did it, I do not know.

Currently I am homeschooling a 5th grade boy who is in the trenches with long division. He's getting it, and doing well. But my attitude toward teaching math has been less than desirable. I get irritated (and irritable) because it takes me almost as much time as it takes him to do the math. I have had to break down problems with a pencil and a paper more often than he does. I have had to say, "Sorry Boy, I did that problem wrong. Your answer is correct" so  many times it's embarrassing.

You are probably wondering what this has to do with what I have learned, so I will just get to it: I have learned that I been teaching from an attitude of pride and insecurity, rather than teaching from a willing spirit.

I have learned that this attitude toward math doesn't just happen during the school hours either. 

I have avoided doing math (without a calculator) in almost every aspect of my life: from eating out with friends at lunch (I make them figure out how to split the bill), to coupon-ing (if it's too complicated I won't sit down and figure it out), to buying a home or car (I make The Mister handle all financial stuff)...I have avoided doing math that I could not do quickly. And I cannot do most math quickly.

I have compensated for a weakness by avoiding the problem instead of facing it; I have been allowing my insecurity to lead my life in this area, which makes me feel like a poser and only leads to more insecurity.

I am amazed at how I have limited myself because I have carried a lie deep within me that has hindered me for over 30 years: That I am not good at math.

The TRUTH is that I have never tried to be good at math. I'd given up long ago.

So what have I learned this week?

I have learned that it will take the power of God to get me over my Math Issues. 

I have learned that its OK to relearn math with your fifth grade son. 

As a matter of fact, its better this way. He is an amazing study partner. 

That is what I learned...