Musings

I had a Interesting Morning...
I wake up, get dressed, go back to bed, get up, put in my contacts, and walk out...only to see that there are COWS in my BACKYARD!!!  There were two, probably escaped from a neighboring house.

I got a really cool gift for my birthday: a tree house equipped with a real live zip line!  It's really funny and cool.

So alas the question:  is it safe to zip line with a cow in the vicinity?

I have to go now,
Bye.

P.S.
Comment what you think: to zip line or not to zip line.

Musings and Ads

Hello,
I know it has been (uh….) 29 days since I posted, very sorry about that!  School has been so busy….

Today I am here to post the following ads on here.  I know they are ads, but please read because I think you will finding them interesting.

Spa Heaven! The Place to Be!
Here at spa heaven, we do what you want, when you want it and where to.  We do all spa services:

• 1 Zone massage….50¢.
• 3 Zone massage….$1.50.
• All Zone massage….$4.00.
• Nail filing….25¢.
• Hair brushing….50¢

We also provide pet care:

• Teeth brushing….50¢.

We are located at Matherne Private Resort Bed&Breakfast.  Come and see us today!

Zones are: neck, back, arm (each arm is one zone), leg (each arm is one zone), and feet (each foot is one zone).  Nail filing includes bubble bath soaking and lotion, NO PAINTING!!!  Hair brushing included Spa Heaven Secret Recipe spray and all tangles removed guaranteed.  NO GELLING!!!  Tipping will be appreciated.

Nature at it's Best:  Matherne Private Resort Bed&Breakfast!
Welcome to Matherne B&B!  Here we can provide refreshing spa treatment, with daily music, an all-you-can-eat buffet, a private pool, and nature viewing on all good weather days.  Our nature viewing is complete with a state-of-the-art above-ground deck (with a pulley for phones, cameras, and sketchbooks and comfortable seating).  We also have a free zip lining course.  Please come visit us today!

Bling's-the-Thing

New Set, New Poll, and New Jewelry!
Hiya, Miss Rose here to dazzle you with our new set!  If you don't remember, a set is a specific color that can be found in all departments (pendant, bracelet, and necklace).  Our current sets are Watermelon (coral and lime green), Countywide (red, white and blue), and Rainbow Bliss (All colors*).  But now we have a NEW set!

Pirate Jewel

Support Granbury Pirates by buying this attractive set!  Its colors are purple and gold.  You can order this pendant in anyway you want, and if you want it, we get it.  Available in all departments.

What else is new in Bling's-the-Thing:  We have a new poll coming up: what should be our next set?  Here are the choices:

• Nature's Best - a collection of natural colors, dark green, lime green, and sky blue.
• Machine made by Hand - a collection of modern colors, black, white, and light blue
• Floral Fun - a collection of floral, girly colors, pink, lavender, and purple

Contact me or comment** on THIS post ONCE.  We will not accept more than one vote from the same person.  No votes will accepted after November 1st. Votes will be counted up on November 2st, 2013.  On that same day, we will announce one person who voted.  This person will receive three free items of their choice***.  So vote today!

As promised, new jewelry will be coming in soon!  We hope to come out with a line of rubber band necklaces and bracelets.  We will post again soon with more information!

Bullying

What it Is, How to Stop It, & Other Stuff

Bullying is a Problem: But What is It?

According to Google search (see ‘what is the definition of bullying’) bullying is the “use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants.”  In short, it means that a bully is a person who has a form of power and is abusing it.  A victim is the object of the bully.  This is the person the bully or bullies pick on.  The bystanders are people who are observers (or witnesses) of bullying.  Remember, there is no such thing as an innocent bystander.  There are many different kinds of bullying:

• Physical bullying:  physical bullying is when a bully actually physically hurts you.  Kicking, punching, slapping, hitting, and shoving are all forms of physical bullying.
• Verbal bullying:  this kind of bullying is when the bully uses words to hurt you.  Forms of this bullying are threats, insults, and blackmail.
• Covert bullying:  with this kind of bullying, the bully also uses words to hurt the victim.  The difference between verbal and covert bullying is the bully uses gossip instead of blackmail and insults to hurt the victim.
• Cyber bullying: this is a difficult form of bullying to deal with.  The bully uses electronic devices (phones, computers, tablets, etc.) to bully.  They may do this through blog posts, texts, emails, or other forms of communication.  It is very hard to track down cyber bullies.

Remember that if you said something back, it isn’t bullying: it’s a conflict.

What are the Causes and Effects of Bullying?

There are many reasons kids bully.  Perhaps the bully does not have a good at-home life; they may have been abused as a child.  It may be hard to believe, but sometimes the bully doesn’t actually know they are bullies.  A victim is usually a smaller, less-popular kid.  He or she probably don’t have many friends.  As for bystanders, if you didn’t take action, you’re guilty.  Why wouldn’t someone take action?  They may be scared of being bullied themselves, or worried about not being in the popular group.  They might not actually know how to help.

What should you do if you you see someone being bullied?  If you are too scared or don’t know how to stand up, talk to an adult - maybe your parents, guardians, or a teacher.

How does bullying affect kids like you?  It makes kids have a low self-esteem, and it can lead to bad grades.  For the bully, it can lead to an inflated self-esteem.  The bystander may be left feeling guilty.  Remember that if you didn’t stand up, you are guilty.

Our Program (and maybe yours)

There are many different kinds of bullying, and many different programs to put a stop to it.  Here is one thought of by four 6th graders at Acton Middle School, Granbury TX.

The SIBIS Project:

This is a program specifically designed to be used in middle schools.  “SIBIS” stands for “Stop-It-Before-It-Starts”.  It should stop current, semi-future, and future bullying.  Our logo, the star, represents the five parts of the SIBIS project:

• Part 1: Make help boxes in the cafeteria, outside the building, or in the bathrooms - try to make it a somewhat private place so kids using the help boxes can do so in privacy.
• Part 2: Talk to current students about bullying.  Stress the difference between conflict and bullying and also what the different kinds of bullying looks like.  It would help if the speakers were also students from that school rather than adults.
• Part 3:  Put up posters to remind students to speak up when they see bullying.  If your school has an art class, perhaps they could make these posters.
• Part 4:  Talk to future students (especially fifth graders) about bullying.  This will get Stop-It-Before-It-Starts’ information in their heads before they come to your school.
• Part 5...has already been done.  Make a website with information about bullying, the SIBIS Project, with links/books we found helpful, and videos with interviews (such as we did)  If your school has a technical applications class, they could perhaps make another website and update it.

Volunteering

There are many ways you can volunteer for SIBIS (if your school uses it or your are at Acton Middle School)  If you don’t know how to volunteer, here are some ways you can:

• making posters
• updating the website (or making one)
• talking to students (current or future)
• making help boxes
• fundraiser

Here is an interview with AMS school counselor D. D. Loftin.

Our Interview with D.D. Loftin, M.ED., LPC:

Interviewer:  What is your opinion towards bullying?

D. D. Loftin:  It’s been going on a really long time.

I:  If the school put you in charge of stopping AMS bullying right now, what would you do first?

D:  Educate people.  That is what we are trying to do now with Rachel’s challenge.

I:  How have you dealt with bullying in the past?

D:  Talk to the bully.  Talk to the victim.  Warn the bullying that punishment will only get worse.  Put the victim in a place of power.

I:  Anything else you would like us to know about bullying?

D:  We have done a better job of dealing with bullying here at AMS now more than ever.  Programs like Rachel’s Challenge are helpful.

Check out these links to find more information on bullying.

www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/index.html

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/problems/bullies.html

http://pbskids.org/itsmylige/friends/bullies/

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying_factsheet-a.pdf

Musings

...
Dadadada.  Mememememe.  I don't know what to type (:-/)  Well anywho today in Tech App (which is Technical Applications fwi) we did home row typing drills.  That means fff jjj fff jjj fjj jff fjj jff fjf jfj fjfj jfj.  :-(!!!  It wouldn't be quite so monotonous if my Words Per Minute (WPM) speed wasn't 29!!!  (a word being five key clicks)  This wasn't just the fastest speed of my class, it was the fastest of ALL Ms. Sparks classes!!!  So whywhywhy am I doing &%$#@! home row drills?!  I mean I can type at about 89% accuracy with my eyes closed (not including numbers) and write three pages of letters, spaces, and punctuation in about 15 minutes.  ARG!  (that was me expressing my frustrated anger!)

I'm doing history fair btw.  Being in GT advisory I am required to do History Fair, Science Fair, or Math Counts (which you couldn't pay me $100 bucks to do) and I was interested in both.  How ever, I am a fast moving and stubborn person, and although I was more interested in the Science Fair, you would have to work with another person.  But I'm good at history (after listening for two and a half years of listening to the audio version of Story of the World, a children's classical representation of the history of the world, by Susan Wise) and I enjoy it, and I could work on my own, I think you can figure out what I chose.  If I hadn't already told you.  :-)

Ok I'm Done.  Why Am I Writing In All Caps?  Stupid typing drills.

Musings

Thinking....
I think a lot.  It's a thing.  Anywho, from now on all my posts will have a list of links at the beginning to help you get around.  Now you can't get lost in my blog.  There will be three links: a link to my previous post, a link to my home site, and a link to the Bling's-the-Thing most recent Online Shopping post.  There you go.

Something to know, so pay attention!!!  (the bold red letters are for people who skip non-promising paragraphs. so is the background color) This is from Bling's-the-Thing, and since it was hidden away, it was kind of hard to see.  You see, I'm doing a survey to figure out what I'll make next.  I need them by September 14.  All you have to do is comment and say your name, and either pendant, bracelet, or necklace.  That's it.  However, on September 14, I will also make 3 free items (again, bold letters) to a random person.  I will not accept more than one name (i.e. if you

A little of everything

This post...
may be a little erratic.  Wonderful word, "erratic", don't you think?  It has a certain victorian feel to it.... Yep, this post is going to be erratic.  And that's a fact.  :)  However, I cannot say that this is a "musings" post.  Because that would not be accurate, for I am going to post a Bling's-the-Thing section.  However, much of it will be musings.

A question to my readers:  I have a notebook.  I call it my diary for connivence but a book on journaling that I read says otherwise.  You see, it says that a journal is a "set of orderly entries in chronological order, usually concerning the days events for the writer's perspective."  (give or take some words).  On the other hand, a diary is a "emotional notebook, usually concerning personal events, secrets, and feelings."  [???]  My...notebook being a personal description of the day's events, what is it? I could call it a journaly, if that didn't sound like a adjective, or I could call it a diurnal, if that wasn't an adjective describing day-roaming animals (as oppose to nocturnal)  Hmmmm....  Time to whip ou tan old tool...google translate!  ...  Beeeeeeep.  Beep blog hope beep.  ...  I have it!!!  How do you like the word acanver? Made from the latin words 'secret words' (literally!), it means ...  my notebook.  :)  Am I not brilliant?!  Acanver.  Or do you like Canver better?  ...

What to write...aha! Prepare yourself!  I am about to talk about a video game, but I give you full permission to just scroll right past it (but please don't).  The wii game I'm going to talk about is called Blue world.  The basic idea is you are a diver in L&L Diving Service (you know, with the wet suit and air tank?) and you get to dive and look for stuff.  There is a story line to it, but I'm stuck on chapter 4 (which involves electric eels and piranhas)  So, in the mean time I get to get extra stuff done from Nineball Island.  That is the home base.  I've bought a whole bunch of upgrades, its really fun.  You can train your dolphin(s)  (I have two, a something-something spinner dolphin name Splash {he can do all kinds of stuff and has reached heights of 9.8 in his awesome flips} and a Spectacled porpoise from Antarctica named Ice {she's a newbie, so she can't do much, but she did bring me a fresh fish, which gave me a lot of money so I could buy some bikinis}  You can take photo requests or guide requests or dolphin show requests (those are self explanatory)  You can investigate treasure rumors (cha-ching!) and poke around.  You can map out different areas for money (and for convience) or arrange the animals in the aquarium.  You can simply dive for fun, explore, and discover new species.  Heck, if you wanted to, go take a plane flight to Antarctica so you can look at the feeding habits of blue whales. The possibilities of being bored, even in your 'free time' is so slim, it hasn't even happened to me!  For example: a regular to-do list for me (an I did this in an hour of real time) is train Ice and Splash, do a dolphin show, go to the aquarium, investigate a new objective, get half eaten by piranhas, follow up on treasure rumor, look for Nancy's scissors at Deep Hole, update dolphin records.  Well?  It's awesome!!!!!!!!!!

Bling's-the-Thing:  Online Buying
You can now access Bling's-the-Thing full storage online!  Simple come to this blog and find a Bling's-the-Thing post from September 1st on.  We will take photos of each of the product separately, number them, and list the price!  (each product number will have a letter and a number.  The letter will stand  for the jewelry type {P for pendant, B for bracelet etc.})  Next, browse for your favorite jewelry piece, and comment.  When you comment, please say your name and which number you want (i.e. Miss. Marcy, P31)  We will then have your jewelry delivered to you shortly.  We accept cash only (no checks or cards).  Please do not order if you do not live in Granbury.  Say a name I will recognize.  The online shopping begins now!  Click here to shop!

Thank you for reading!  Toodles!