You will not be accomplishing more, if less of what you’re doing is working and we all have only 24 hours in a day and that’s not changing.

I Can Haz Attenshunz and Ingajmentz

_________________________________________________________

I wanted to share with you a Twitter chat that I will be hosting this Monday, April 4th from 12:30pm ET to 1:30pm ET that I think will be amazing.

The guest is George Siemens and my brief writeup of the scheduled chat is below and don’t forget to use the hashtag #SMCEDU.

I hope you can join us!

Learning and Analytics

George Siemens is at the forefront of defining the concept and promoting the discussion of the relatively recently coined term Learning Analytics.

Learning Analytics has been identified by the 2011 Horizon Report as one of six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education over the next one to five years.

George is among the leaders in this emerging field and it’s not hard to see why.  So far this year, he has served as the Conference Chair for the 1st International Conference on Learning Analytics, co-facilitated the massive open courses “Learning and Knowledge Analytics” and “Connectivism and Connective Knowledge” which has drawn world-wide innovative educators to the same table to exchange ideas and knowledge, but most importantly to learn from each other.

The Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute (TEKRI) at Athabasca University which sponsored the 1st International Conference on Learning Analytics referenced their support explaining,

“The growth of data surpasses the ability of organizations to make sense of it. This concern is particularly pronounced in relation to knowledge, teaching, and learning. Learning institutions and corporations make little use of the data learners “throw off” in the process of accessing learning materials, interacting with educators and peers, and creating new content.

In an age where educational institutions are under growing pressure to reduce costs and increase efficiency, analytics promises to be an important lens through which to view and plan for change at course and institutions levels.”

The acronym MOOC, first coined in 2008, is well known by any of his students, many of which are educators.  When George Siemens and Stephen Downes were preparing to begin the online course “Connectivism and Connective Knowledge” they were flooded with over 2000 people worldwide signing up for the free, open course. The massive number of participants prompted a new label for the super-sized course, a MOOC or Massive Online Open Course.  How is the course organized and conducted?  Interestingly, all course content was available through RSS feeds, and learners could participate with their choice of tools: threaded discussions in Moodle, blog posts, Second Life, shared bookmarks, and synchronous online meetings, but participants were invited to use the technology methods they were comfortable with. The participants took their notes, posts, discussions, and reference material to every Web 2.0 and social media technology most of us can imagine.

Most of us as we move toward deciding which social media elements are most helpful and engaging to learners will be interested in learning how to evaluate which measures are most effective. Learn how to look at your social media and teaching from the viewpoint of what the data can tell us.

George Siemens is a strategist and researcher at the Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute at Athabasca University. Formerly, he was the Associate Director, R & D, Learning Technologies Centre at University of Manitoba. He is the founder Complexive Systems Inc., an research and learning lab focused on assisting organizations develop approaches to meet the needs of changing learners, employees, and global education and business environments. Siemens has keynoted and presented at national and international conferences. His publications and personal blogs can be accessed at www.elearnspace.org and www.connectivism.ca.

Desktop wallpaper http://www.GilmoreMemories.com

I was reading “Watching Your Teens Favorite TV Shows Is Important“  and it brought back a flood of great memories.

I remembered when Kay and I used to watch The Gilmore Girls (2000-2007) together every tuesday night for almost six years.

The Series

This series was not so far off of where we were at that time as a family.

Loreli is a single mother raising her 13 year old daughter Rory in a small town.  Loreli was fairly young when she had Rory so they some what ‘grow up together’ but when push comes to shove in their relationship, and parenting was needed, the series presented life lessons in a humorous but intelligent way.

The Casual Conversation

What was so great about this time together, was we could goof off, have fun, and have a casual conversation.   We talked about everything from college, to fashion, to money, to dating and beyond.  I learned so much about her from 6 years of this casual talk and I’m sure she learned a lot about me.

But the most important thing was we grew closer, we developed a closer relationship, we learned to share with each other, to agree as well as disagree (and if there is one thing you want to be able to do with your pre-teen, it’s learn how to thoughtfully disagree).

Proposing A Solution Before The Problem

The other pre-problem solution I found that worked well was the sharing of a proposed solution for the proposed problem before it became a problem.  For instance, back in the day (about 5 or 6 years ago) before cell phones and texting became so popular, there was IM (instant messaging).  Which is pretty much sending instant short messages on the computer to an individual or group of friends real-time (when they were online at the same time you were and received the message instantly).

I noticed she started acting a little peculiar when I walked past the computer, as if she had something to hide.  After thinking about this for a little while, I decided she needed a personal IM monitor, someone caring, compassionate… her little brother.  After two days of brother IM monitoring Kay came inquiring.  I explained that she seemed to be misusing the computer, her brother loved spending time with her, knew how to read and that I thought they needed to spend more ‘time’ together.  Then I dropped bomb number two, saying “You know, if I can’t trust you on the computer, I can buy key tracking software that will track every letter you type on that keyboard.  Of course, I don’t want to invade your privacy, but I want you to know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.  I hope you don’t make me do that because I would feel terrible having to spy on you like that”.

Being a pretty bright girl, it only took her seconds to realize that she didn’t want this outcome.  We sat down and talked and came to an agreement.

I never purchased that tracking software and I’m glad I never had to.  Sometimes you can proactively avoid a problem if you communicate a strong, direct message before there really becomes a problem.

Let’s Talk

Have you ever had something that you’ve done with your kids that has opened up your relationship, trust, and brought you so much closer that you would like to share? I think we’d all like to get pointers on what works for staying close to our kids!

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Related Posts:

• Who Taught My Kid That Four Letter Word
  
• How Technology Helps Me Be A Better Dad
• If 40 Is the New 30, Is 18 the New 8?
• How to Prevent Your Child From Being A TV or Video Game Addict

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The page that contains the initial poem,  explains my thoughts and why I felt inspired to write these two poems, which is a little odd, because I don’t write poems.

My Child… Your Gift

My Child…

Again I will show you, just how remarkable are thee

how much I love you and that I created you,  especially for me

All the gifts I have bestowed upon, each one of you

is completely individual you see

No two of you the same, an exquisite artwork made personally by me

my great  masterpiece, my best work, so beautifully perfect are thee

____________________________________________

And now for your gift, further proof  how valuable My Child must be

exists in your soul, the divine spark, to be a creator like me

If blessed with a soul mate who is  so devoted to thee

executing the plan to perfection, who loves you and who also loves me

Who will treat you like My Princess Child, but on earth can it be?

of course –  all is possible, My Children listen carefully to me

____________________________________________

And through your love, your bond, your joining, you’ll see

my most exquisite gift, my special signature, half your DNA it will be

A child created by the two of you, created in love

as I always meant it to be

____________________________________________

My beloved, newest angel I trust safely to thee

to love as I love you, until you all return to me

My plan is so brilliant, so perfect, nothing else could it be

live happily My Children, love each other,  how I meant it to be

____________________________________________

But because you are not perfect, not yet anyway, there will be

some of My Children, whose struggle is hard, before returning to me

And by helping them, you will reflect My Perfect Son through thee

reminding all of my love, sent to them, through you, but from me

*

Thank you all for allowing me to share these poems with you.

One of my main takeaways from the movie was how important it is that for each of us to truly forgive ourselves in a very deep personal way.

Most of us do not ‘really‘ acknowledge our perceived negative parts of our personality, The Shadow Effect brings to our attention that this part of us, when discovered, acknowledged, and reflected upon can become some what of a positive piece of our personality.  It can and will add facets to our self understanding that we never considered.  And changing this negative to a partial positive, will help us find more happiness in our own lives.

When I thought deeply about my own self forgiveness, I was inspired to write the poem below.

My Child

My Child…

You’d never have allowed yourself, never forgiven yourself,

never have set yourself free.

Never have deemed yourself worthy, had I not prepared a path for you

to follow and held the light for you to see.

____________________________________________

Only within the light of my reflection, within the safety of my never ending,

never changing — love could you see.

Could you open your eyes wide enough, to contemplate your brightness/

ponder yourself being what I’ve always known you to be.

____________________________________________

You See My Children…

You are on a journey…. to eventually becoming…

eventually becoming just like me

An angel of Light in the Darkness…  that shines brightly…

so bright all will one day see

____________________________________________

This is my gift to you… You had been designed from the beginning

to be just like me.

Created in my image, crafted from my hands, my master work

my reflection  –  the way I created you to be.

____________________________________________

But our common attributes you could not see through the cloudy, dull

reflection you saw yourself to be…

Through me…  Only then… Would you gaze upon your own reflection, and

see the beauty that I see…

For I am perfection! — The highest reflection of God!

What you COULD and WILL ALWAYS be

____________________________________________

Were You Not Listening My Child…

When I told you… when I told you — follow me

follow me into the light of abundance — and be ALL that you can be

For I Know You Well My Child…

I know the forgiveness you’d blind yourself from giving,

forgiveness that would set you free

____________________________________________

I know all about you. You are more important, more loved

than you’d ever believe yourself to be!

You see My Child…

You Are Mine…  You Live Deep in my Heart

where you will ALWAYS and FOREVER be!

*

What I Discovered

We know as human beings that we are exceedingly complex and that these complexities include are conscious and subconscious minds.

The part of our subconscious mind that we rarely think about, our perceived negative traits and characteristics.  Since these traits live in our subconscious, if they are never discovered, we rarely realize that they are there until something happens.

The Shadow Effect shows you how to look deeper into your shadow (your perceived negative subconscious mind).   Looking deeper, you discover that these parts of yourself although initially painful, into these traits, leads to a greater understanding of who we are in the totality of our personality.

Only when we fully understand the entirety of ourselves, can we begin the healing process by accepting and reigning in our full personality, we experience it’s benefits, which leads to increased happiness in our lives.

The movie has two versions, the full movie version and the 2 disk interactive version.  I loved the interactive version and found it incredibly helpful and is the version that I recommend.

The idea is to watch the full movie to get the uninterrupted experience of the movie.   Then whenever it’s convenient and you feel ready, to go through the interactive disk, which guides you through a process of personal self discovery. In this interactive piece, you are fully customizing the experience to your life, your personality, and your specific situation. I feel that this piece is very valuable and it is definitely worth the few extra bucks to buy the interactive version.

The Shadow Effect movie trailer

How To Get Your Copy of The Movie

I personally own two of Debbie Ford’s books; The Best Year of Your Life and The Right Questions.   Because Debbie Ford has been working on this process for nearly fifteen years, most of her books are correlated overall in the same direction. I found the books to add to my experience, although I read both books before I saw the movie.

Since I own the products below, I feel comfortable recommending them to you because I truly believe this is a process of self discovery that will enhance and improve your life.

The Shadow Effect movie dvd - $15.96

The Best Year of Your Life softcover book $12.00

The Shadow Effect movie dvd - Interactive Edition $23.96

The Right Questions softcover book - $12.00

I hope this post has touched your heart in some way. It has touched my heart deeply just putting these thoughts into words.  Vicky

Update: I wrote a continuation of this poem called, My Child… Your Gift if your interested in reading it.

*

by Anita Bruzzese

Christmas Card vs

Family Newsletter

Several years ago a bit of a tiff started in newspaper advice columns regarding family newsletters.

On one side were the people who said something like:  “I’m sick of getting these ‘updates’ that are nothing more than a chance for people to brag about how wonderful their perfect children are and what awards they’ve won.”

Who cares?!

On the other side were the folks who said they looked forward to the missives, and they didn’t even care if a little bragging was involved.  “It’s a chance to stay connected,” these people argued. “It’s nothing to be mad about.”

“In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future. ”   — Alex Haley

The Doubt

As someone who faithfully sends a family newsletter every year, I worried.

What were my family and friends saying about me?

Was my newsletter something to be reviled and chucked in the recycling bin after they blew their nose on it?

The Test

So, one year I decided to test the waters and didn’t send a newsletter. I got an earful. “Where is your letter, you slacker?” a friend griped. “I read that thing to everyone at work. They look forward to it!”

An elderly aunt was more delicate: “Dear, is there something wrong? We’re worried since we didn’t get your letter this year, which is a highlight for us.”

Well, with those kinds of comments I  took it as a positive sign and ignored that niggling doubt my newsletters were a source of derision and disdain and decided to continue writing my messages.

Personally, I love getting newsletters from family and friends. To be honest, I don’t love them all equally. Some, I will admit, read like resumes. Some are just long-winded and boring. But in our fast-paced, hectic lives, I think it’s more important than ever that we stay truly connected.

The Writing Tips

So, here are some tips to help you write family messages that are treasured, not trashed.

• Avoid listing specific awards.

This is a real pet peeve of many people. If you say, “Amber received first place in the regional soccer competition hosted by….”  Blah, blah, blah.

Everyone skipped ahead as soon as they saw “first place” and “Amber.”

Instead, talk about why Amber loves soccer: “She says she pretends the ball is the boy in math class who bugs her.  She loves kicking the stuffing out of it.”

You can say you’re doing well at work, and love certain aspects of your job.  But to talk about how you were one of only five people recognized in your region for selling the most widgets?  Seriously?  Only your mom cares about that, and you probably already called and told her.

Spare the rest of the people in your life the litany of family awards.

• Tell a story.

Don’t list every town you stopped in on your summer vacation, where you ate and how much gas cost.

Pick an event – like when you went horse-back riding and found out your guide used to work for Brad Pitt – and highlight it.   People appreciate a good, short story.

It makes them feel much more a part of your life and helps them enjoy the experience as if they were there with you.

• Make it personal.

Don’t talk about yourself in the third person.   It sounds weird, like you’re a Hollywood diva with serious emotional issues. “Anita had a great year. Anita tripped and fell in front of the entire high school track team.”

Instead, “I had a great year, except for the day I tripped in front of the high school track team and one of them said, ‘When my Grandma fell like that, she broke a hip. Maybe we should call an ambulance.’”

• Keep it concise.

Really, all anyone wants to hear is some brief news about your family; what they’re doing; what interests them; any cool tidbits to pass along (“we found a great cabin at the lake for a really reasonable price and here’s the phone number…”); and that you’re hoping they’re doing well.

Kids change so much from year to year that it might seem tough to whittle down your newsletter to one page, but try.

As they say, always leave your audience wanting more.

Anita Bruzzese writes on her site 45 Things and  is the author of two books “45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy — And How To Avoid Them” and “Take This Job And Thrive“.  You can download a sample chapter of each of her book’s on her site for a preview.

Anita has written about workplace issues for more than a decade and is an award-winning journalist, as well as being the founding managing editor of the national magazine Employee Benefit News.

Mom’s, kid’s and dad’s enjoy, this look yummmy!

Cool Cake for Mom (No Baking Required)

Dad and company can make this creamy, foolproof confection on their own — no oven (and no Mom) required!

That’s because this cake “cooks” in the refrigerator.   All you do is prepare a few ingredients.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

	1 (10 3/4-ounce) pound cake
	1 (3 1/8-ounce) box of instant pudding
	1 cup whipped topping
	Fruit (we used 2 bananas and 4 large strawberries)
	Mint sprigs (optional)
	Chilled chocolate syrup

RECIPE STEPS:

1. Slice the pound cake into several horizontal slices about an inch thick.

2. Prepare the pudding according to package directions.  Mix the pudding with the whipped topping.

3. Chop up the fresh fruit you’ve chosen.

4. Layer the cake, fruit, and a little less than half of the pudding mixture in a loaf pan.  Then top the cake with the remaining pudding.

5. Put the cake in the fridge for a couple of hours. When it’s chilled, decorate it; we topped ours with trimmed strawberries and mint sprigs.

6. Squeeze on a greeting with chilled chocolate syrup.  Then serve Mom a sweet treat on her special day.

What other plans do you have for your mom? Did you make her a card or buy her a gift?

Please share your plans with all the kids and mom’s and tell us what makes your mom special!

Would you like to create a video, would you like to write an article or would create a slideshow highlighting your Remarkable Kid?

We think you do!

Why Would I Participate?

Sometimes you just need an idea… a little encouragement to acknowledge someone special in your life.

You  now you can submit content to be highlighted in the special section of our website — called Remarkable Kids! 

How Do I Participate?

If your child has a blog or website, please submit the url (do not include child’s name) in the comments.  Note: All content must be submitted by an adult 18 years or older.

Link It Up

So link it up and let’s get this great new project started.   We are excited and can’t wait to begin receiving your content!

*

WARNING: This post is rated PG-13

I’ll admit it, I’m a huge 37signals blog fan and checkout their blog almost daily, right after I look at the Lolcats blog.

I’m looking at the picture above and reading the entry, then start reading the comments. I am not a web interface designer, so many times I see the articles in a different light than many of the other people who comment on the site. When I saw this today I was shocked! Had Amazon made a huge PR blunder? and then have it reposted on Signal vs. Noise….

Truthfully the reason I read the article was not related to design, I thought “I wanna go read all the flack those guys are going to get from their readers for posting about Bezos, since he’s an investor”. So imagine my surprise finding out all the comments were about the design.

So I thought, think like a designer Vicky, you can look at the packaging from a “frustration free packaging” point of view. So I’m looking at it and I’m going to myself who cares how easy it is to open or close, you can’t see the toy! Why would I buy a toy with that ugly brown wrap that you can’t even see that it’s a toy?

I bet someone at Amazon is having a WTF moment. Jeff, don’t fire the PR people, unless your going to hire me, I *heart* Amazon!

Did you know that Blog Action Day will be having a 12 hour Blog Talk Radio Talk-a-thon?

It’s happening on October 15th, 2008 (Blog Action Day) from 12:00pm (EST) to 12:00am (EST).

“Using Social Media For Nonprofits” Roundtable

One session that will be on the Blog Talk Radio Talkathon will be a “Using Social Media For Nonprofits” roundtable discussion.

The session will be live beginning at 5:00pm (EST) to 5:45pm (EST). We have some of the best bloggers, social media experts, and nonprofit experts included so it should be very interesting.

Who’s on the roundtable panel?

Host: Easton Ellsworth, U.S. Coordinator Blog Action Day,
Cohost: Vicky Hennegan
Panelists: Paul Chaney, Liz Strauss, Mark J. Carter, Beth Kanter.

Beth Kanter

Nonprofit Technology Trainer, Consultant, and Evaluator

Beth Kanter is a trainer, blogger, and consultant to nonprofits and individuals in effective use of social media. Her expertise is how to use new web tools (blogging, tagging, wikis, photo sharing, video blogging, screencasting, social networking sites, and virtual worlds, etc) to support nonprofit. She has worked on projects that include: training, curriculum development, research, and evaluation.She is an experienced coach to “digital immigrants” in the personal mastery of these tools.

She is a professional blogger and writes about the use of social media tools in the nonprofit sector for social change.

Liz Strauss

The founder of SOB (Successful and Outstanding Bloggers) list and the founder of SOBCon Conference, which is a biz school for bloggers.

Anyone who knows Liz personally knows what a giving person she is. Liz is constantly giving to others and views her friends and clients success as part of her success. Liz has two main mottos that envelop exactly who she is as a person and business woman, they are “be irresistable” and “you’re only a stranger once“.

Mark J. Carter

Over the last 7 years Carter has interviewed, worked with and/or been mentored by the best professional relationship builders.

Then Carter put everything into a duplicable, step by step system by taking the best of their strategies (and these people ranged from what you would call business “movers and shakers” to the “nice guys/girls”…the common thread: they all got (and get) results from their relationships).

In addition to networking Carter builds social media campaigns that not only create word of mouth marketing but also build relationships online and offline.

One of his current projects is serving as Director of Social Media for www.SavingTheWorld.net; an online community created by NY Times Bestselling Author Tim Sanders (just released his latest book, “Saving The World At Work“). The focus is creating change in your workplace and your community.

ONE80 Consulting :: Training

“Building Pivotal & Profitable Business Relationships”

Paul Chaney

Paul is the Internet Marketing Director for Bizzuka, a Web design and development company based in Lafayette, Louisiana. When he’s not serving Bizzuka, he also serves as President of the International Blogging and New Media Association (IBNMA), a non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing blogging, podcasting and social media as an industry.

Paul has been involved in online marketing for nearly a decade. As one of the first business blogging consultants he understands at a granular level how conversational media tools such as blogs can be used for marketing purposes and has worked with a number of clients assisting them in deploying such strategies.

Paul was co-founder of Blogging Systems, a blog software company that significantly impacted the real estate industry in terms of encouraging Realtors to adopt blogging as a marketing strategy. Along with Blogging Systems CEO Richard Nacht, he co-authored Realty Blogging: Build your Brand and Outsmart Your Competition, which similarly impacted the industry and which was the first blogging book to target a specific industry vertical.

He is a feature writer for Practical Ecommerce magazine on the use of blogs and social media for marketing purposes. He has led numerous workshops and seminars on the topic, including the first ever such seminar in Asia in 2005. He also blogged professionally with Weblogs, Inc, as well as with Allbusiness.com.

Paul has served as Technical Editor on a number of the “For Dummies” series books related to blogs and Internet marketing, and was contributing writer on Buzz Marketing with Blogs For Dummies, published by Wiley..

Realty Blogging (Paperback)

by Richard Nacht (Author), Paul Chaney (Author)

Junta 42 #14 of Top 42 Conversational Media Marketing

Social Media Resources:

Web 2.0 Social Tools Starter List

Beth’s Wiki
Lots of links and resources about nonprofits and social media -
explore and enjoy

Eight Secrets of Social Networking for Nonprofits

Social Networking Options for Nonprofits

How To Find Your Blog Community: Managing Information Overload

Netsquared

Social Actions

NTEN

Blog Action Day Posts

Can You Live A Life In Poverty?

Excerpt Imagine if:

• Your life purpose was getting clean water for your children to drink that day.
• Living with abundance meant having a plate of food and not just scraps.
• Manifesting your dreams included having a roof over your head.

What if you had nothing, and had to scrape by every day, worried about necessities like food and water and housing? Most people in extreme poverty do not have the luxury to think about a life purpose – other than how to stay alive. That is their purpose. Food, Water, Shelter.

For every Life Purpose Course you purchase from us today we’ll donate $25.00 to Heifer.org and buy some goats, chicken and water systems to support others.

My Poverty Callout

Excerpt
So you want to help? Then tighten your belt
You’re going to do things that’s going to be heartfelt
Look inside yourself, ask what you will do
If you struggling and your country won’t help you
What do you do? How about where you’ll go?
How’s a stranger going to help? Just let him know
that “I don’t want to hand out, just a hand up
So I can contribute to life’s everloving cup”
I have desire and I want to leave my mark
In this world before my lights goes dark
What can I be? What can I contribute?
I could be a doctor, who can distribute
the cure for many diseases, for every season

The Vicious Cycle Of Poverty (Or Why Jessie Won’t Go to College)

Excerpt After all, as Winston Churchill eloquently put it, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

What will you give today?

Tell you what… I’ll donate $25 to Save the Children for every pledge of $10 or more from each of you out there. Just drop me a note in the comments with your pledge, and go here to make your donation.

If there are companies out there that would like to make a more substantial donation, I’ll be more than happy to recognize you for it in a follow-up post. Send me email with the details. Thanks for your time and attention.

In closing, thank you to everyone who participated in Blog Action Day! Bloggers Rock!

Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day.

One Issue, Thousands of Voices

Video: Blog Action Day 2008 …the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue. By doing so on the same day, the blogging community effectively changes the conversation on the web and focuses audiences around the globe on that issue. Out of this discussion will naturally flow actions, advice, ideas, plans, and empowerment.

Mass Participation

From the smallest online journals, to huge online magazines, to EU ministers, to professionals and amateurs, Blog Action Day is about mass participation! Who’s participating?

Elena Valenciano, TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, LifeHacker, Mashable, SmashingMagazine, VentureBeat, ProBlogger, Inhabitat, ZenHabits, StepcaseLifeHack, MentalFloss, DailyBlogTips, TorrentFreak, SEOMoz, GetRichSlowly, WiseBread, LifeDev.net, GigaOm, DumbLittleMan, RemarkableParents, SuccessfulBlog, DiscoveringDad, ChrisBrogan, Shift+OneMedia, DivinePurposeUnleashed, LifeInPerpetualBetaMovie, DeafMom, IBNMA, ChrisG, and more…

How You Can Participate

1. Register your blog. 2. Get Blog Action Day banner. 3. Respond to email confirmation. 4. Save email with html script code. 5. Insert script code into October 15th Blog Action Day post.

Blog Action Day 2008

In 2008, the Blog Action Day theme is Poverty. Bloggers are free to interpret this as they see fit. We invite bloggers to examine poverty from their own blog topics and perspectives, to look at it from the macro and micro, as a global condition and a local issue, and to bring their own ideas, views and opinions on the subject.

Other Resources:

Blog Action Day web site Live Stream of @BlogActionDay Tweets (Right Now!)

Live updates on October 15th from 12pm (EST) to 12am (EST):

Twitter: @BlogActionDay

Web: http://www.blogactionday.org Blog Talk Radio: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/blogactionday

Social Media for Non-profits Roundtable (moderated by Vicky Hennegan) live on Blog Talk Radio 5pm (EST) October 15th

Guest Panel: Paul Chaney, Liz Strauss, Mark J. Carter, and Beth Kanter

Flickr photos for your post:

Ideas – posting on topic? Need post ideas? Need Technical help with your post?

Vote for a story about us on Yahoo! Buzz: http://tinyurl.com/bad08yahoobuzz

Earlier today, I added my 25 words at a friends website Productivity in Context. Here is my poetic contribution of what was on my mind today.

Random 25 Words

by Liz Strauss

A Random Twenty-Five Words

Might Not Convey Meaning Or Power.

Yet Translating A Thought

Into Precisely Twenty-Five Words

Can Transform A Thinker Into A Writer.

Changing The World

by Vicky H

Change The World You Say?

Not On My Agenda Today!

It’s All Work, No Play.

Change The World Another Day.

Life Needs Reevaluation Right Away!

The Science – The Art

by Stephen Smith

Work When You Work

Live When You Live

Balance Them Carefully

The Science: Knowing The Difference Between The Two

The Art: Knowing When To Stop

| View | Upload your own

Note: Added the above slide on July 21st.

So express yourself, tell me how you feel today in twenty-five words or less!

]]> http://remarkableparents.com/your-life-today-in-25-words/feed/ 0 http://remarkableparents.com/novelty-vegetables-for-the-kids-or-for-your-next-party/ http://remarkableparents.com/novelty-vegetables-for-the-kids-or-for-your-next-party/#comments Sat, 05 Jul 2008 19:20:37 +0000 Vicky H http://remarkableparents.com/?p=23

Mickey Mouse is an american icon!

No matter what generation you are from, Mickey Mouse is part of our culture.

In Disney World’s EPCOT ( “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”) Center an area is devoted to agricultural technology, where several large greenhouses encompass about 2.5 million square feet of area!

EPCOT Is Growing Mickey Mouse Ear Pumpkins!

One of the things that EPCOT has been experimenting with in Eco Friendly gardening is growing vegetables within their own self sestaining ecosystems.

In the picture to the right, pumpkins are being grown inside forms shaped to look like Mickey Mouse’s ears. The pumpkins will grow within the form and eventually will take on its full shape characteristics.

Can Vegetables Be Fun!

Every parent has been there. We all have tried to get our children to eat their vegetables. We have either succeeded, failed, or reached a of compromise somewhere in between.

What if vegetables were fun, different and interesting?

Vegiforms are 1/8″ thick, clear plastic forms that you securely fix over the growing vegetable, as the vegetable grows it conforms to the shape of the mold.

One of the forms available is of an elf head. This form is used for shaping eggplant, melon, pumpkin, gords, and squash.

The “pickled pair” can be used with cucumber, zucchini and summer squash.

Even though my kids are older, I think I’m going to pick these up as gifts for a few friends.
They might even encourage children to eat their vegetables.

If you are interested in purchasing Vegiforms or seeing their products in more detail go to their web site.

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Whack A Mole

In my own personal growth, many times I feel like an unwilling participant in a flurried session of Whack-A-Mole! The arcade game.

This player is an expert and whacking moles is what he does! Getting whacked over and over does three things well; it makes your head hurt, gives you a renewed sense of urgency, and instills a strong conviction not to do this again!

Properly motivated now, the story moves on…

I did what I always do when life gets rough and I feel a little whacked.

I went to the local Barnes and Noble bookstore – with the connected Starbucks cafe. A girls gotta get a good cup of coffee and unwind sometimes!

Books

I walk in, find the section that has the kind of book I want, and I start scanning. I look at the books, pulling a couple out so I can read the inner sleeve and back cover.

Interesting?

Goes in the pile to the right.

Boring?

Goes back on the shelf.

This goes on until I have a pile of books — the maximum I can carry across
the bookstore to the Barnes & Noble cafe.

In the cafe, I get a large cup of coffee as I prepare to read the first three pages of each of the fifteen books I just carted across the bookstore like a true geek.

The total time spent on this expedition? Usually about three hours.

Information

Yes, I could talk to a friend or family, but many times it’s just easier to go find your own answers!

I like books when I want to get another person’s perspective, preferably someone who a) is not a crazy and b) someone who knows the subject matter. It’s not easy to find a good author with something meaningful to say when you need it!

I was searching for a book that would help motivate me and not a bull-sh*t filled book that would make me feel warm and fuzzy. I need someone to tell me like it is, not someone telling me what I want to hear in five easy steps.

Life Strategies

A book that really helped me change my thinking was “Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters” by Phillip C. McGraw, Ph.D. If you’re thinking, “Is that Dr. Phil”? You are right, it is Dr. Phil. I’ve heard several people say they don’t like him and his tv show, I don’t get a chance to watch it, so I don’t know. I will say however that I found a ton of value in this particular book!

Phillip M: “Most people cheat themselves by not asking themselves the hard questions, not facing their true personality and behavior, and therefore not addressing the nitty-gritty issues undermining their efforts to succeed.”

Vicky H: Ouch! Hate it when people do that.

Phillip M: “You are accountable for your life. Good or bad, successful or unsuccessful, happy or sad, fair of unfair, you own your life! If you are not happy, you are accountable. Acknowledge and accept accountability for your life. Understand your role in creating the results that are your life. Lean how to choose better so you have better.”

Vicky H: Ouch! This was almost worse then participating in a whack-a-mole game.

Phillip M: “Whatever your life circumstances, accept that you can no longer dodge the responsibility for how and why your life is the way it is.

Taking responsibility doesn’t just mean giving “lip service” to being accountable by saying “Okay, I’m accountable”. If you don’t accept accountability, you will misdiagnose every problem you have. If you misdiagnose, you will mistreat. If you mistreat, you won’t get better, plain and simple.”

Vicky H: [ I keep reading...]

Phillip M: “Adopt an attitude of questioning and challenging everything in your life that you can identify as being accepted on blind faith or as having been adopted out of tradition or history. Consider patterns in your personal, professional, family, and social areas.

You will be surprised at how much of your life involves patterns where you do things in a certain way simply because someone else who didn’t know any more than you, did them that way. You will, of course, find certain things that withstand the challenge and therefore should be embraced. You will also identity things that do not withstand the challenge and therefore should be modified or abandoned.”

Our brains love micro-processing. Our brain wants to be efficient. It wants to find the answer, file the thought away and move on to the next thought.

Reusing our previous decisions over and over is quick, but does it serve us well? In my personal case, no. After spending the better part of a year giving my thoughts and their patterns a makeover, I think I made a huge leap forward — and from that point I’ve never looked back.

Ways I Have Changed

After learning this, I don’t take as many things for granted and I try to put myself in the other persons shoes more. Thinking differently is now getting me different results. I can now see many of these patterns in advance and I consciously re-evaluate their need to exist.

In the pre-teen and teen years children start the transformation towards defining their individuality. Reevaluating my own values and choices makes me realize how much I have changed over the years.

This has helped me to understand my kids changing and to appreciate, love, and embrace their uniqueness for both their god given gifts, as well as their shortcomings.

Sensible pondering is much more zen than being whacked like a mole.

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