IN HONOR OF VETERANS DAY

“Veterans’ Day”

An Arkansas teacher imparts a lesson in the value of freedom by having veterans return her students desks.

Four years ago, in September of 2005, then Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas shared this story of something a teacher did in his state.

On the first day of school, Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the permission of the school superintendent, the principal and the building supervisor, she removed all of the desks out of her classroom.

When the first period kids entered the room they discovered that there were no desks.

“Ms. Cothren, where’re our desks?”

She replied, “You can’t have a desk until you tell me how you earn the right to sit at a desk.”

They thought, “Well, maybe it’s our grades.”

“’No,” she said.

“Maybe it’s our behavior.”

She told them, “No, it’s not even your behavior.”

And so, they came and went, the first period, second period, third period. Still no desks in the classroom.

By early afternoon television news crews had started gathering in Ms. Cothren’s classroom to report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of her room.

The final period of the day came and as the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the deskless classroom, Martha Cothren said, “Throughout the day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to tell you.”

At this point, Martha Cothren went over to the door of her classroom and opened it.

Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk.

The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and then they would walk over and stand alongside the wall. By the time the last soldier had set the final desk in place those kids started to understand, perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the right to sit at those desks had been earned.

Martha said, “You didn’t earn the right to sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They placed the desks here for you. Now, it’s up to you to sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price so that you could have the freedom to get an education. Don’t ever forget it.”

Teacher Martha Cothren is the daughter over World War II POW and regularly has veterans visit her classroom. She often uses less typical methods of imparting knowledge to her young students. Part and parcel of what she teaches is an appreciation for the members of the armed services.

Her students now have sent numerous care packages to US personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. They also write letters to soldiers, sending off over 4000 letters since this event.

In 2006, the Veterans of Foreign Wars gave her the honor of naming her Teacher of the Year.

Please consider passing this along so others won’t forget that the freedoms we have in this great country were earned by U. S. Veterans.

POSITIVE PRAYER FOR TODAY: Dear God, protect and be with every soldier and their families. Keep them out of harm’s way. Make every effort to bring peace to the world.

Have a wonderful, safe day, and send a silent (or loud) thanks and wish for safety to all those away from their families in service of our country

adam lamberts new single

from the movie trailer 2012 can't wait for the cd to come out!!!! he may not have won american idol but he will go much further than the yo yo that did win!!! hope you enjoy the video.






no pic to post today am trying to finsih up some more trip pages. been having a time with what is being called temporal arteritis now for three weeks, don't ever want another round of it either, waiting on ct scan results to make sure that we won't have to go another step with mra or biopsy. yeah the patriots won today what a bright spot!! have a great day all

a few more vacation pages

 long way from finished none the less plugging along slowly but surely


used on slipper page paper from my stash.  the slipper was cut from vellum and i used a gold heart as an buckle but that doesn't show up in this pic.  the rest are all papers from ctmh. i've left room to go back and JOURNAL.  now i think that about will cover the ship pic  now i'll move on to the ports. or maybe go back and do the prep stuff like  getting the reservation  and then the entire cruise schedule and excursions, the passport,  the birth certificate, and the cards i made to send to dawn and critter, the christmas envie with cruise $$ in it   etc.  all that has to be incorporated yet too.   this is gonna be a L O N G project.  oops  some of these are in the  smilebox on the side so they are dups   sorry

a few cards

some halloween cards, kinda cute and these were easy to do

halloween fan

we wore football jerseys to work on fri  for halloween GO PATRIOTS!!!

and a patient made these bat treats for us i didn't eat mine but here's a picture  of it just the same, i usually don't eat things people bring in i have issues, like did you wash your hands first  etc.  and in this case i don't like chocolate.  but these things are cute they are moon pie with oreo cookies and white chocolate and candy corn and a  candy pumpkin and some toasted coconut, it was presented nicely on a skeleton plate which is perfect for an orthopaedic office. aren't they cute?

halloween pranksters

here are the PURR  fect halloween pranksters,  one was co operative the other one no so much you guess which was the real stinker

card and dinner

this was for a swap at scs stamped with indigo ink, embossed, colored with copics, and paper pieced the umbrella. humm on here this is out of focus  shoot the cardstock is green family and the edge is punched her coat is yellow, pink boots sorry it is out of focus

and now for a shocker for those of you who know me i cooked last night, here it is and it was yummy!   i can't quiet figure out what happened to me but after my trip last fall i eat things i would never of dreamed of and some things are now touching!!!! oh never in a million yrs could i have seen this coming

this is so simple to do.  i found the recipe in a magazine REAL SIMPLE you gotta check it out  great magazine.  anyway the recipe is so simple here it is.

1 lb  cheese ravioli (i used chicken and cheese)

2 tblsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 crisp apple cut into matchsticks

( they recommended gala i used granny smith)

1/2 cup chopped parsley

s / p

1/4 cup grated parm

cook the ravoli as directed.  while it's cooking  heat oil in a skillet and add nuts cook until lightly toasted over low heat.  4 - 5 min.

add apple, parsley, s / p   toss  then spoon over ravioli and top with parm.

somebody pinch me  who is in there?

ok off to watch the race and football have a wonderful evening

a few vacation pictures

in the smilebox are a few vacation pages in progress. they are not finished they need journaling and foo foo things but all in good time. this is a huge project to tackle, so take a peek but once the pages are finished i'll take this preview down and post the finished ones. ( hope everyone is having a great day.

there she stands

only wish i'd found this before 9 - 11 this year; it makes a great tribute well it can be for anytime. enjoy



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0wr8egTnYw

food don't faint

 

ok here is the dish i served for dinner, don't look at the fancy plate please.   it tasted ok i will make it again but i will pump it up with some meat of some kind ,

if you want to make your own here ya go it's called:

FRESH POMODORO PASTA WHITE BEANS AND OLIVES

8 OZ WHOLE WHEAT PASTA  ( I USED PENNE)

2 TBLSP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 15 OZ CAN CANNELLINI BEANS DRAINED/RINSED (WHITE KIDNEY BEANS)

1 LG GARLIC CLOVE MINCED

1 LB RIPE DICED TOMATOES (ABOUT 3 CUPS)

1/2 CUP OIL CURED PITTED BLACK OLIVES CHOPPED OR SLICED

1/2 CUP FRESH BASIL

1/2 TSP KOSHER SALT ( I LEFT IT OUT)

PEPPER FRESH GROUND TO TASTE

1/2 CUP GRATED  ROMANO CHEESE

BOIL WATER TO COOK PASTA ACCORDING TO PACKAGE DIRECTIONS . DRAIN

MEANWHILE HEAT OIL IN LG SKILLET OVER MED HEAT.  ADD BEANS AND GARLIC .  COOK UNITL BEANS ARE HEATED THROUGH (ABOUT3 MINUTES).  REMOVE FROM HEAT ADD TOMATOES OLIVES BASIL AND PEPPER.  STIR TO COMBINE.  WHEN I SERVED IT I PUT THE BASIL ON TOP OF IT AND A LITTLE OF THE SAUCE IT MAKES FROM THE TOMATOES THEN CHEESE.

NEXT TIME I WILL ADD SOMETHING LIKE PEPPERONI OR GRILLED CHICKEN TO IT BUT IT WAS GOOD LIKE THIS. 

CAT FIGHT

they are right over top of the computer acting like  kung foo nuts.  they were asleep and then black one got mad at a lizard on the window sill and the white one came to look and it was an all out war after that  hair pulling squalling and punches.   BOYS!!!

last one to bore you with today

love the cuttlebug folder the lace tree  it doesn't how up well here but it's on  light orange cardstock inked with a burnt orange ink  and some ribbon and jewels.and a crimped silver foil edge,  inside has two small cuttlebug packages and says happy holidays this for a scs swap

another

this one has been a royal pain,  the flock won't stay where i put it, it has stained two of the cards by rubbing off, so needless to say they're gonna be trashed and not used, i've changed this card  twice in the past two weeks and last night was the third and final change .  can you say  BYE  BYE!!! this is supposed to be for a scs swap and its due in two weeks  oh my i'm not even sure i like the change from last night either .

yet another

this is a cute crazy group it's a penny black stamp too. i need to work on coloring it appears that  skill has been lost. this was for a scs swap

hinged card

here it is closed  this is for a scs swap

some new cards

my first flip card  i used the nesties and a penny black stamp this is showing the inside

I will be cooking tomorrow!!!

HOLY GROCERIES FOLKS! i found a recipe in an old crock pot book that sure sounds SIMPLE yet tasty. So we'll see how it turns out.. Here it is is anyone wants to try it.

5-6 pork chops
salt & pepper to taste
29 0z can peach halves (reserve the juice)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
8 oz tomato sauce
1/4 cup vinegar

brown the chops drain arrange in slow cooker sprinkle with s & p. place drained peach halves on top of chops. combine cinnamom cloves brn sugar tomato sauce vinegar and 1/4 cup peach syrup. pour over chops cover cook on low 4 hours.

now don't any of you faint to know i'll be in the kitchen, and maybe i'll try a donna& take a picture of it hummm now that's a thought. or was that lori's son that takes pix of his food too? i'm thinking it's the full moon coming that has me doing crazy things like cooking? anyway have a lovely day all.

NO PIC TODAY

have decided to work on my trip pix. have pulled out several and they are trimmed and matched with papers. now to mat (or not), match embellishments. and finalize. i have about 60 pages so far and still have two ports to do....oy vey. maybe at our next crop i'll have some finished and ready to post but that won't be until sept 12.

have a wonderful week end all.

that's all for today

and on a final note for today CHA was a big disappointment. they few big vendors who stayed for retail sales on sat were all crowded together and shopping was nearly impossible. it didn't take us long to get in and out, i waited in line to check out with paperty ink for almost 45 min.the first time i went to the booth i left, and like a dummy i went back a second time and was determined to get what i wanted. the cuttlebug people were there without any products to sell, not big name rubber stamp companies other than paperty ink, argh all the build up and for NOT!!! splitcoast had a booth and it stayed crowded, i saw from a distance the people who started it but couldn't get to the table to meet them. found a few cute ideas at various places and took a few pix of them, and gathered some info about a place in so carolina called scrapbook cottage that we are going to try to get to, check out the site it's www.ScrapBKCreations.com, and we are got info on a scrapbook treasure hunt to do in tampa. we are going in sept for a shopping trip for a week end in tampa to check it out, www.scrapbooktreasurehunt.com. ok enough chat for today and several to come i'll be off now to work on some of the swaps i have to finish. have a quiet evening an enjoy the hall of fame football game i'm not interested in either team but thank goodness it's TIME FOR FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!

with the kids at go cart city