Once there was a boy named Asher. He lived with his pet dragon. He named his dragon Bluetooth because it had one blue tooth in a mouth of otherwise pearly whites. Asher believed this special tooth held the magic which allowed the dragon the power of human speech.
Sometimes Asher wished Bluetooth did not have the power of human speech, because Asher had to listen to all sorts of complaining from his pet dragon. Bluetooth complained if the house was too cold, even though he could just light the fire place with his dragon fire breath. He complained if dinner was even five minutes late but never offered to help cook it.
One day Asher sat down with Bluetooth to discuss the situation. "Sometimes, I get awful tired of listening to all this complaining," Asher said.
"Well, it isn't my fault life is so hard," Bluetooth complained.
"When you complain about a problem, it makes life harder," Asher patiently explained. "When you do something to fix the problem, it makes life better."
"Hmm. I don't know about that," replied the skeptical dragon.
"Try it for one week and see how you feel. Whenever you think of a problem try to fix it before you complain about it. You'll be happier," Asher challenged.
"Oh, alright. I will see for one week if this helps," the dragon said.
At first Bluetooth kept forgetting, and Asher would have to remind him. If Bluetooth complained that dinner wasn't ready yet, Asher would ask him to set the table. If he complained of a chill, Asher would ask him to light a fire. When he complained of the dusty floor tickling his nose when he was trying to nap, Asher asked him to sweep. And once when a stray chicken got into the house, Asher asked him to open the door so he could herd it out.
But, after all the reminding, by the end of the week Bluetooth had started to get in the habit of helping solve problems instead of complaining about them.
"Hey Bluetooth, it has been a week. How do you feel?" Asher asked
optimistically.
"Thanks for suggesting I try to fix problems before complaining. I think it has made life better around here," Bluetooth confided in him.
"Thank you for helping out around here. It has made my life better too," Asher replied.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Friday, March 20, 2015
Alicia name poem
A-awesome
L-loves her family and pets
I-industrious, inquisitive
C-creative, careful
I-indecisive, introverted
A-award winning
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Advent Calendars
I like Advent Calendars to enjoy the daily countdown till Christmas. There are a lot of different kinds that I have thought of or my family used growing up.
* Lego has some you can buy where you put a little creation together every day.
* Some people have special felt trees and ornaments that you pin on.
* I have a small Christmas tree to hang 2 ornaments on every day.
* I also made snowflakes to hang a snowflake somewhere in the house every day.
* I made a __ days till Christmas sign that you change every day by writing on a paper and putting it in a page protector so we could write the numbers with a dry erase marker.
* My parents found a chain of small stockings that you pull something out of each day (candy, toy, family activity)
* A kiss a day till Christmas is a chain of candy kisses made by wrapping them in plastic wrap and tying in between each with ribbon and you cut one off and eat it each day.
* If you had window clings or other decorations of a winter scene or nativity you could put one up every day.
* If you had a lot of presents and had them in advance you could put one under the tree every day, but that is a lot of gifts. Ours usually just get put out as they get wrapped, or growing up my family wouldn't put my presents out till Christmas Eve or ban me from touching them, because I would guess what it was even though it was wrapped.
The past two years we just had the small tree. This year we added the snowflakes and days till Christmas sign. That's still only three and there are four of us, but I guess we'll have to look at Lego ones earlier next year.
What kind of Advent Calendars do you like?
* Lego has some you can buy where you put a little creation together every day.
* Some people have special felt trees and ornaments that you pin on.
* I have a small Christmas tree to hang 2 ornaments on every day.
* I also made snowflakes to hang a snowflake somewhere in the house every day.
* I made a __ days till Christmas sign that you change every day by writing on a paper and putting it in a page protector so we could write the numbers with a dry erase marker.
* My parents found a chain of small stockings that you pull something out of each day (candy, toy, family activity)
* A kiss a day till Christmas is a chain of candy kisses made by wrapping them in plastic wrap and tying in between each with ribbon and you cut one off and eat it each day.
* If you had window clings or other decorations of a winter scene or nativity you could put one up every day.
* If you had a lot of presents and had them in advance you could put one under the tree every day, but that is a lot of gifts. Ours usually just get put out as they get wrapped, or growing up my family wouldn't put my presents out till Christmas Eve or ban me from touching them, because I would guess what it was even though it was wrapped.
The past two years we just had the small tree. This year we added the snowflakes and days till Christmas sign. That's still only three and there are four of us, but I guess we'll have to look at Lego ones earlier next year.
What kind of Advent Calendars do you like?
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Edmund's captain's log, life date 1y9m21d:
Captain's log, life date 1y9m21d:
I think I should be at home getting ready for bed, but I guess I would rather ride in this shopping cart instead. Apparently they have giant blow up Christmas decorations available already even though they still have the scary Halloween stuff out too. This world is strange sometimes.
It's past my bedtime. Maybe if I don't remind Mom or Dad, they won't put me to bed. I'll just come along for the ride.
What are these round, fluffy, white things? If it's supposed to go in my mouth, why is it quite the mouthful? Well, either way, marshmallows are delectable.
Come on, Mommy; Let's see what Daddy is doing outside. Ooh. Fire. Why won't they let me touch it? Why can't I even get close? What's the big deal with putting your marshmallows on a stick over it? Yum; Daddy has chocolate. Oops, I keep dropping those graham crackers on the ground. At least I didn't need to put my marshmallows on a stick; sometimes they catch fire that way. Brother said he didn't mean to do that.
Mommy, why are you putting all the sleeping bags and stuffed animals on the living room floor? Daddy, where are you taking the couch cushions? Why do you need them under your sleeping bag?
Whew, it's getting late. We finally got ready for bed, but now they want me to lay down in the family room. This room is for playing, especially if you leave all these stuffed animals out and the humidifier within reach. I don't want to lay down out here, I tell you.
Here we are in my bed sweet bed, and Daddy even brought in my animals and my humidifier. Goodnight, World. See you tomorrow.
I think I should be at home getting ready for bed, but I guess I would rather ride in this shopping cart instead. Apparently they have giant blow up Christmas decorations available already even though they still have the scary Halloween stuff out too. This world is strange sometimes.
It's past my bedtime. Maybe if I don't remind Mom or Dad, they won't put me to bed. I'll just come along for the ride.
What are these round, fluffy, white things? If it's supposed to go in my mouth, why is it quite the mouthful? Well, either way, marshmallows are delectable.
Come on, Mommy; Let's see what Daddy is doing outside. Ooh. Fire. Why won't they let me touch it? Why can't I even get close? What's the big deal with putting your marshmallows on a stick over it? Yum; Daddy has chocolate. Oops, I keep dropping those graham crackers on the ground. At least I didn't need to put my marshmallows on a stick; sometimes they catch fire that way. Brother said he didn't mean to do that.
Mommy, why are you putting all the sleeping bags and stuffed animals on the living room floor? Daddy, where are you taking the couch cushions? Why do you need them under your sleeping bag?
Whew, it's getting late. We finally got ready for bed, but now they want me to lay down in the family room. This room is for playing, especially if you leave all these stuffed animals out and the humidifier within reach. I don't want to lay down out here, I tell you.
Here we are in my bed sweet bed, and Daddy even brought in my animals and my humidifier. Goodnight, World. See you tomorrow.
camping in your living room
Benefits of camping in your living room:
No tent to set up and take down.
No crying kids in the next tent over.
You don't have to make sure to feed your pets before you leave and when you get back or arranging for someone to do it for you.
When your one year old decides he would rather play than lay down with you, even when it's two hours past his regular bedtime, you can put him in his bed so he can fall asleep practically instantly.
The floor isn't as cold and lumpy as the ground.
You can use the restroom without having to unzip the tent, clamber out, and get your shoes on.
You can get changed into your pajamas in your own bedrooms instead of taking turns in a cold, dark, cramped tent.
You can brush your teeth at a real sink instead of a water jug spigot.
When your ten year old keeps wanting to play, you can threaten to send him to his bed if he doesn't lay down.
No tent to set up and take down.
No crying kids in the next tent over.
You don't have to make sure to feed your pets before you leave and when you get back or arranging for someone to do it for you.
When your one year old decides he would rather play than lay down with you, even when it's two hours past his regular bedtime, you can put him in his bed so he can fall asleep practically instantly.
The floor isn't as cold and lumpy as the ground.
You can use the restroom without having to unzip the tent, clamber out, and get your shoes on.
You can get changed into your pajamas in your own bedrooms instead of taking turns in a cold, dark, cramped tent.
You can brush your teeth at a real sink instead of a water jug spigot.
When your ten year old keeps wanting to play, you can threaten to send him to his bed if he doesn't lay down.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Dinner List Dilemma
What to do when you are having trouble coming up with dinner ideas.
In our house we make a list of dinners for the week and then make the grocery list for the week so that we usually only have to go shopping once a week. When I sit down to make the list, but run out of ideas, I can...
1. Ask family members what they would like to eat.
2. Consult the list I have made of dinners we frequently eat.
3. Look in the pantry for anything I want to use.
4. Look in the freezer for anything I want to use.
5. See if I have any good coupons to use.
6. Browse a cookbook for new recipes to try.
I'm currently looking for good, healthy, vegetarian recipes, if you have any. We also just planted a garden, which adds another option.
7. See which fresh produce is ready to be harvested and find meals to use it.
In our house we make a list of dinners for the week and then make the grocery list for the week so that we usually only have to go shopping once a week. When I sit down to make the list, but run out of ideas, I can...
1. Ask family members what they would like to eat.
2. Consult the list I have made of dinners we frequently eat.
3. Look in the pantry for anything I want to use.
4. Look in the freezer for anything I want to use.
5. See if I have any good coupons to use.
6. Browse a cookbook for new recipes to try.
I'm currently looking for good, healthy, vegetarian recipes, if you have any. We also just planted a garden, which adds another option.
7. See which fresh produce is ready to be harvested and find meals to use it.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
The Rescuer and the Captive. part 3
I remember the large one
When the lights came back on and the large one came back, it moved my cell. It moved me outside, but higher up, probably not on ground level. I hoped if I was outside I could somehow escape and find my way back home. Maybe there were more of my kind around in this area who could point me in the right direction. Or if they had never heard of my area, maybe I could live with them for a while before traveling around to find my way back home. If the large one would go away and leave me unattended for a while I might try the door again. I guess I could have tried acting friendly in hopes that the large one might open the door, but it was safer to hide and wait for it to leave. Any time it touched me it was so big I feared it might crush me even accidentally. And who knew if it might hurt me now even though it seemed to have helped me before. Generations of hiding from the large ones can't be overcome that easily. Being a cautious race has kept us safe for the most part from the large ones. When we stay undetected, we stay safe. We've heard that those who have revealed their numbers have been hunted down and captured or killed. So I waited.
Even after it went back in the building I waited. What if it was going to come right back? But what if I waited too long and missed my chance. I had to try now. I passed food and water as I got to the door, but I wasn't brave enough to try any of it. It might be a peace offering, or it might be a trap. I would be better off just ignoring it and focusing on figuring out how to squeeze out through this door. If I wiggled just right I might make it. For a minute there I thought the large one would come back to find me stuck half in and half out of the door, but I kept twisting and pushing. Finally my body was free. Then my suspicions were confirmed; the large one had put the cell up on a ledge or shelf, one that it could easily reach, but that was at least ten body lengths above the ground for me. Well I couldn't just sit on this ledge till it came back for me. But, could I climb down, or would I just be injured in the fall? I would have to risk it, but I would leave a note first. I wasn't sure the large one would understand it anyways since it had not responded to my attempts to communicate earlier, but I still felt I should explain why I had run. Maybe someday our races would come to understand each other and hostilities would no longer be necessary.
To my Rescuer,
Thank you for helping me in my time of need. I am very grateful for your assistance. However, since I cannot seem to communicate with you to understand your motives in keeping me here, I felt it would be wisest for me to try to find my way home on my own. If we meet again, can I count you as a friend?
Sincerely,
A Grateful Little One
Nathan and I have been reading some science fiction stories lately about the communication barriers between humans and aliens, and I got to thinking of the barriers even between races from the same world: beings that live in the same overlapping territories but can't communicate with each other because they communicate in different ways. This story is actually based on true events, but I don't want to ruin the affect by telling you what they were.
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