This morning while watching the news (or at least what passes for news), Texas Governor Rick Perry has come out swinging in his bid for the Presidential election. Calling into question President Obama's and Fed Chairman Bernanke's patriotism because they never served in the military. While I realize that serving your country is a huge part of the American identity, I think Perry is missing something very important.
Military men don't necessarily make great leaders. Granted they have been trained to be many things, one of which is a leader, but, that doesn't mean that they will be the right leader for the situation.
Leadership is not always a skill set that can be taught. Sometimes it relies on something akin to intuition. It's not black and white. There are shades of context and meaning in everything. A good leader is one that is willing to learn from situations and people, regardless of rank, that can admit fault graciously without excuses and moves to fix it without whining or BS. These are not leadership skills that have been taught...they are character traits. Aside from this, when you participate in any type of verbal attack on someone, you show your character much more than you show the person's you are attacking.
I don't know who I will vote for in the 2012 election, but I assure you that I will ponder the behavior of all candidates seriously. They say it's not how you treat your peers that is telling of your character, it's how you treat those who have less than that does.
Mrs. Martin
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Football and other things
Saturday heralded the beginning of football season in our house with the 1st Titans pre-season game against the Vikings. Harlee did the disgusted eye-roll as soon as I started yelling at the television screen. Having been raised in Texas, where you attended the Church of the NFL with your favorite team as your denomination, it's not surprising that I tend to be somewhat of a fanatic. It also explains the quickness to which I took to supporting the Titans....they are a former Texas team (Houston Oiler's for those of you who are not football fans) after all & they keep me from being homesick for my over the top state.
I enjoy football, though I'm not a fan of watching it live unless I'm high enough to see the entire field. I remember going to games with my mother at WTAMU (now WTA&M) in Canyon, Tx as a child and then later on attending Jr. High football games to support friends. None of my children have the football enjoyment gene and quickly exit the room every time we turn the TV on to watch a game and can only be bribed to come out of their rooms with copious offerings of Queso and 7 layer dip.
Football on a local level is much harder for me to get into, despite having 3 children in the county school system. A large part of that is the fact that both my girls are in marching band. Both activities have their merits, but as long as my girls are marching, my focus locally will be on the band program and what I can do to promote community support for them. Though our marching band numbers are small (50 or so), they are good at what they do and they have a fantastic director who cares not only about the music itself, but also cares for the kids too.
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This past Wednesday we took a day off from the real world and spent the day at the lake. We rented a pontoon boat along with my sister in-law and her family, borrowed a jet-ski from a friend and proceeded to have fun. We found a little cove, dropped anchor and spent 7 hours or so swimming, tubing, and playing around on the jet-ski. Tanith, who is now 16, finally had the opportunity to "drive" the jet-ski and did an admiral job of following the rules while still exploring a new skill set. Harlee was disappointed that she's not yet old enough to operate it, but still had fun riding. A.J. on the other hand rode, with Kyle once and was done. Though he really enjoys riding the motorcycle with dad, he wasn't quite comfortable with the water. All in all it was a great day and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with the family before things get insanely busy with my school, the kids school, internship, band competitions, and football games.
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I spotted an article yesterday on Msnbc.com that validated what myself and other parents have known for years: Cutting recess out of school affects how well kids learn. Imagine that! This is especially evident in the lower grades when children don't have the ability to sit still and focus for long periods of time. I have a difficult time staying focused during a 5 hour lecture even with a lunch break and 2 other breaks. I can just imagine how difficult it would be for a youngster to accomplish anything close!
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Speaking of school, the kids are finally in their first full week of school. Which means I have 2 weeks of relative peace and quiet in which to prepare myself for my next to last semester of Nursing school. Time flies when you are least wanting it to.
The line up for this semester is Critical Care and Pediatrics. I will have clinical rotations for them both as well as my internship, which I am going to do my level best to continue with until I graduate in May. I also participate in the MTSU Older Wiser Learners (OWLs) Peer mentor program. This program is in place to help non traditional students like myself navigate the college world and provide peer support. While I never formally had a peer mentor, I had several key people that served as sounding boards for ideas, helped edit papers, answered endless questions, and kept me sane (still do). I feel that it's only fair that I give back to this great program, especially in light of all the adult students returning to the college path.
Well I think I have written my self out at the moment. I hope all of you have a spectacular week!
I enjoy football, though I'm not a fan of watching it live unless I'm high enough to see the entire field. I remember going to games with my mother at WTAMU (now WTA&M) in Canyon, Tx as a child and then later on attending Jr. High football games to support friends. None of my children have the football enjoyment gene and quickly exit the room every time we turn the TV on to watch a game and can only be bribed to come out of their rooms with copious offerings of Queso and 7 layer dip.
Football on a local level is much harder for me to get into, despite having 3 children in the county school system. A large part of that is the fact that both my girls are in marching band. Both activities have their merits, but as long as my girls are marching, my focus locally will be on the band program and what I can do to promote community support for them. Though our marching band numbers are small (50 or so), they are good at what they do and they have a fantastic director who cares not only about the music itself, but also cares for the kids too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This past Wednesday we took a day off from the real world and spent the day at the lake. We rented a pontoon boat along with my sister in-law and her family, borrowed a jet-ski from a friend and proceeded to have fun. We found a little cove, dropped anchor and spent 7 hours or so swimming, tubing, and playing around on the jet-ski. Tanith, who is now 16, finally had the opportunity to "drive" the jet-ski and did an admiral job of following the rules while still exploring a new skill set. Harlee was disappointed that she's not yet old enough to operate it, but still had fun riding. A.J. on the other hand rode, with Kyle once and was done. Though he really enjoys riding the motorcycle with dad, he wasn't quite comfortable with the water. All in all it was a great day and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with the family before things get insanely busy with my school, the kids school, internship, band competitions, and football games.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I spotted an article yesterday on Msnbc.com that validated what myself and other parents have known for years: Cutting recess out of school affects how well kids learn. Imagine that! This is especially evident in the lower grades when children don't have the ability to sit still and focus for long periods of time. I have a difficult time staying focused during a 5 hour lecture even with a lunch break and 2 other breaks. I can just imagine how difficult it would be for a youngster to accomplish anything close!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of school, the kids are finally in their first full week of school. Which means I have 2 weeks of relative peace and quiet in which to prepare myself for my next to last semester of Nursing school. Time flies when you are least wanting it to.
The line up for this semester is Critical Care and Pediatrics. I will have clinical rotations for them both as well as my internship, which I am going to do my level best to continue with until I graduate in May. I also participate in the MTSU Older Wiser Learners (OWLs) Peer mentor program. This program is in place to help non traditional students like myself navigate the college world and provide peer support. While I never formally had a peer mentor, I had several key people that served as sounding boards for ideas, helped edit papers, answered endless questions, and kept me sane (still do). I feel that it's only fair that I give back to this great program, especially in light of all the adult students returning to the college path.
Well I think I have written my self out at the moment. I hope all of you have a spectacular week!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
On the other hand...
Today's post began as a rant about the political mess in D.C. until I got sidetracked by going out to a friends house. Various other things got in the way of me sitting down to finish the post and now here I am 12 hours later, sitting down and realizing that I just simply don't have the energy to post about the buffoons on Capitol Hill today.
Instead I am going to write about my enjoyment of a friends garden, spending time riding the motorcycle with my husband, and being silly with my kids. Granted, it probably isn't high on the excitement end of the spectrum for you the reader, but these are the things that make my life happy.
I like gardening. The feel of the earth on my hands, seeing something grow (kind of like parenting lol), and the best part, eating the fruits (pun intended) of my labor. Unfortunately, the past 2 years have not been kind to my little plot of earth that I use to grow things. The first year we had the garden out it did poorly and so I figured some sort of soil amendment would be necessary, but trying to get that done during my school year, well it didn't get done. Last year the May flood took it out about a week after we planted and nothing got done with it, and this year, well I'll be honest my brain took a vacation after Med-surg and Women's health. So getting to see my friend Andie be so proud (and rightfully so) of their nice garden was a treat.
My husband is a gearhead. I say this not only with affection, but with pride as well. Without his skills my poor little Miata would be languishing in a junkyard somewhere. My baby is the Miata, his is the motorcycle. We've had four or five bikes over the years and they all needed a considerable amount of time and attention (not to mention money) than he had. He finally lucked up on a deal a few months ago on a Honda Shadow 1100. It's a nice bike (much better than the old Goldwing we had) and a much more comfortable ride to boot. Today we took that bike out to Andie's and it was a really nice getting to ride with him on something he enjoys the way I do my Miata.
For those who don't know me personally, I have 3 children. Tanith is 16, Harlee is 14, and A.J. is 7. They are my greatest source of joy...not to mention a considerable source of frustration, but hey, that's their job. Everyday that goes by, they manage to teach me something as well as make me laugh. Who needs cable when you have kids like this. Days like today remind me how fleeting childhood really is. I hope that I can continue to be silly with my kids, even when they have families of their own. Rules and regulations have their place, but they don't remember those nearly as much as they remember the tickle fights (or in our case, flour fights...don't ask I'll have to explain later), or all the times that you were silly with them.
So that was my day today. I didn't climb any mountains, no dragons were slayed, but I had fun relaxing with my family so it's all good.
Instead I am going to write about my enjoyment of a friends garden, spending time riding the motorcycle with my husband, and being silly with my kids. Granted, it probably isn't high on the excitement end of the spectrum for you the reader, but these are the things that make my life happy.
I like gardening. The feel of the earth on my hands, seeing something grow (kind of like parenting lol), and the best part, eating the fruits (pun intended) of my labor. Unfortunately, the past 2 years have not been kind to my little plot of earth that I use to grow things. The first year we had the garden out it did poorly and so I figured some sort of soil amendment would be necessary, but trying to get that done during my school year, well it didn't get done. Last year the May flood took it out about a week after we planted and nothing got done with it, and this year, well I'll be honest my brain took a vacation after Med-surg and Women's health. So getting to see my friend Andie be so proud (and rightfully so) of their nice garden was a treat.
My husband is a gearhead. I say this not only with affection, but with pride as well. Without his skills my poor little Miata would be languishing in a junkyard somewhere. My baby is the Miata, his is the motorcycle. We've had four or five bikes over the years and they all needed a considerable amount of time and attention (not to mention money) than he had. He finally lucked up on a deal a few months ago on a Honda Shadow 1100. It's a nice bike (much better than the old Goldwing we had) and a much more comfortable ride to boot. Today we took that bike out to Andie's and it was a really nice getting to ride with him on something he enjoys the way I do my Miata.
For those who don't know me personally, I have 3 children. Tanith is 16, Harlee is 14, and A.J. is 7. They are my greatest source of joy...not to mention a considerable source of frustration, but hey, that's their job. Everyday that goes by, they manage to teach me something as well as make me laugh. Who needs cable when you have kids like this. Days like today remind me how fleeting childhood really is. I hope that I can continue to be silly with my kids, even when they have families of their own. Rules and regulations have their place, but they don't remember those nearly as much as they remember the tickle fights (or in our case, flour fights...don't ask I'll have to explain later), or all the times that you were silly with them.
So that was my day today. I didn't climb any mountains, no dragons were slayed, but I had fun relaxing with my family so it's all good.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Crappy writing
Today I woke up, grabbed my coffee and plopped down in front of my laptop to perform my morning ritual of scanning interesting articles while the coffee does it's work of waking me up. Yet again I was confronted with a story about "Free healthcare", in which the author of the article derisively assumes that her readership is full of idiots.
I think one of the things that bothers me about this article, is that it does a crappy job of sensationalism. I really really miss the days when reporters were a little less biased. Ok Miss journalist, we now know that you are a supporter of the Right, which is fine you have that right, but I shouldn't be able to tell it by what you wrote. Do you just spout what your compatriots tell you to, or do you actually do your own research? What are these studies that you are citing that state that preventative health care costs more? There are a lot of smoke an mirrors in this article. She cites a study from the Journal Health Affairs, yet gives no more specifics than that. Going through the Advance Online Articles at their website I "think" I found the article she is talking about, but am unsure because she didn't give a DOI number or even the name of the article, no nod to the authors of the study.
Quite frankly I can't think of any area of writing that this piece succeeds in other than a waste of space. We the people are getting sick and tired of overly biased reporting, half-truths, crappy reporting, and even crappier writing in general.
I'm not trying to set myself up as a perfect writer, I know I'm not, and I do realize that this is an Op-ed piece. I'm just really disappointed in the route the writer went to get their point across. It was filled with snarky comments and logical fallacies, granted it's opinion, but if you want me to take you seriously, then write your Op-ed piece with as much research and seriousness as you do for any other article.
Ok, my rant is over for the moment, until another unwitting person ticks me off before I've drank my coffee.
I think one of the things that bothers me about this article, is that it does a crappy job of sensationalism. I really really miss the days when reporters were a little less biased. Ok Miss journalist, we now know that you are a supporter of the Right, which is fine you have that right, but I shouldn't be able to tell it by what you wrote. Do you just spout what your compatriots tell you to, or do you actually do your own research? What are these studies that you are citing that state that preventative health care costs more? There are a lot of smoke an mirrors in this article. She cites a study from the Journal Health Affairs, yet gives no more specifics than that. Going through the Advance Online Articles at their website I "think" I found the article she is talking about, but am unsure because she didn't give a DOI number or even the name of the article, no nod to the authors of the study.
Quite frankly I can't think of any area of writing that this piece succeeds in other than a waste of space. We the people are getting sick and tired of overly biased reporting, half-truths, crappy reporting, and even crappier writing in general.
I'm not trying to set myself up as a perfect writer, I know I'm not, and I do realize that this is an Op-ed piece. I'm just really disappointed in the route the writer went to get their point across. It was filled with snarky comments and logical fallacies, granted it's opinion, but if you want me to take you seriously, then write your Op-ed piece with as much research and seriousness as you do for any other article.
Ok, my rant is over for the moment, until another unwitting person ticks me off before I've drank my coffee.
Friday, July 22, 2011
The end of the tunnel is much closer these days
For those of you who don't know, 4 years ago I embarked on a journey to become a nurse. Granted, there have been a couple of failed classes along the way as I retrained my brain to think ahead instead of react (when you have little ones, it seems all you do is react), but for the most part I have been a decent student (I think anyways). The end of next month marks the last fall I will start classes for my BSN. This morning I purchased my first round of Malpractice insurance (I had coverage through the school, but this is an individual policy). I feel like I'm on the edge of a cliff. I don't know that I ever thought I would get this far. You see I've had a history of flaking out on things in the past. Not necessarily something to be proud of, but I strive to be honest, especially with myself.
I've surprised myself through the past 4 years though. This blog wouldn't exist had I not taken the ACT 14 yrs after I got out of high school and made a decent score on the writing portion. You see I LOVE to read, it's my main form of entertainment, but I never could get the writing thing down in school. So I just gave up...until I got into college, and guess what? All that reading paid off! Granted I still struggle with coma's (see previous 2 sentences), but somehow I figured it out. Then there was math, my old bugaboo from grade school. I can now do algebra without going into a panic attack. While I've always loved the process of learning, I found out that being an intentional learner had it's own rewards.
There's been other growth as well. I've learned to not have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to something I just don't get (that's another post in and of itself). I have to slow down, take a deep breath, and start from the beginning. I've always been a people person, as in I enjoy people. However it's been very difficult, (I feel anyways), to let other people see just exactly who I am. This has been the slowest thing to change, but now I have several friends outside of my normal circle who make me stretch intellectually.
So as I begin my last last year of nursing school and take a look at where I've been, I'm satisfied. I may not be the most outstanding student in terms of grades, but I am passionate about learning and helping people. What I don't know I can learn as I continue to grow academically and as a person. Hopefully it will be enough.
I've surprised myself through the past 4 years though. This blog wouldn't exist had I not taken the ACT 14 yrs after I got out of high school and made a decent score on the writing portion. You see I LOVE to read, it's my main form of entertainment, but I never could get the writing thing down in school. So I just gave up...until I got into college, and guess what? All that reading paid off! Granted I still struggle with coma's (see previous 2 sentences), but somehow I figured it out. Then there was math, my old bugaboo from grade school. I can now do algebra without going into a panic attack. While I've always loved the process of learning, I found out that being an intentional learner had it's own rewards.
There's been other growth as well. I've learned to not have a chip on my shoulder when it comes to something I just don't get (that's another post in and of itself). I have to slow down, take a deep breath, and start from the beginning. I've always been a people person, as in I enjoy people. However it's been very difficult, (I feel anyways), to let other people see just exactly who I am. This has been the slowest thing to change, but now I have several friends outside of my normal circle who make me stretch intellectually.
So as I begin my last last year of nursing school and take a look at where I've been, I'm satisfied. I may not be the most outstanding student in terms of grades, but I am passionate about learning and helping people. What I don't know I can learn as I continue to grow academically and as a person. Hopefully it will be enough.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Whew!
Sorry for the time between posts, the 2 trips out of town put a kibosh on my being able to post with any regularity.
The boat races were a blast as usual. Getting to see all of the family is icing on the cake. Unfortunately this years Regatta was marred by two separate crashes one of which resulted in some serious injuries. My thoughts are with the people injured in both wrecks.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Unlimited Hydroplane racing I'll give you a quick rundown. Hydroplanes are boats that fly (yes you read right, fly). They are mostly powered by turbines (though there is still one hold out piston powered boat), and the only parts that stay in the water when they are moving are the propeller, rudder, and skid fin. They have been clocked going 200+ mph on a straight a way and they are awesome to watch! http://www.h1unlimited.com/ has some great video footage as well a pictures and the history of the sport for those who would like to have more information. Here are some pictures that I took in Madison and Detroit for your viewing pleasure, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
The boat races were a blast as usual. Getting to see all of the family is icing on the cake. Unfortunately this years Regatta was marred by two separate crashes one of which resulted in some serious injuries. My thoughts are with the people injured in both wrecks.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Unlimited Hydroplane racing I'll give you a quick rundown. Hydroplanes are boats that fly (yes you read right, fly). They are mostly powered by turbines (though there is still one hold out piston powered boat), and the only parts that stay in the water when they are moving are the propeller, rudder, and skid fin. They have been clocked going 200+ mph on a straight a way and they are awesome to watch! http://www.h1unlimited.com/ has some great video footage as well a pictures and the history of the sport for those who would like to have more information. Here are some pictures that I took in Madison and Detroit for your viewing pleasure, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
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| Deck to deck racing in Detroit by the U-7 Valken & the U-88 Degree boat |
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| This is the bottom of the U-1 Miss Oh Boy O'berto Hull |
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| The U-5 Miss Graham Trucking being lifted via crane to go into the water |
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| U-21 & the U-100 coming down the front stretch in Madison, In To give you an idea of the size of these boats, their dimensions are approximately 30ft long by 14ft wide. They are put into the water by cranes like this:
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Monday, July 4, 2011
Vacation!
Since Thursday we have been in Madison, IN for the first leg of the Hydroplane racing series. Every year we meet up with my husband's family for a fun weekend of food, drink, family, and of course hydroplanes. These turbine powered boats are a marvel in engineering attaining speeds of 200+ mph on the straight-a-ways. The racing is fantastic and the sight of the rooster tails going around the turns is breathtaking. I will post some pictures tomorrow when I get home and have more connection. Right now is just a quick update, we leave for home this afternoon and then begins the fun part of doing the laundry from vacation. I hope everyone plans on spending some time with their family and/or friends today.
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