Water or Coke?

I took this from an email forward I just received. And as a side note, did I mention that drinking the appropriate amount of water (half my body weight in ounces) was my big New Year's Resolution?

WATER
1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism
is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism
as much as 3%.

4. One glass of water shut down midnight hunger pains
for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a
University of Washington study.

5. Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day
could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory,
trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen
or on a printed page.

8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.

And now for the properties of COKE:

1. In many states (in the USA) the highway patrol
carries two gallons of coke in the trunk to remove
blood from the highway after a car accident.

2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of coke and it will be gone in two days.

3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous China.

4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.

6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

7. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains.

8. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

For Your Info:

1. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid.
Its pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.
Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones.
(osteoporosis, anyone??)

2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the
commercial truck must use the Hazardous material
place cards reserved for Highly corrosive materials.

3. The distributors of coke have been using it to
clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a coke or a glass of water?

Have A Great Day and Share It With Others

Oh, the mind of a child....

I babysat my brother's kids last night. Some people pay me money for this service. My brother and sister-in-law pay me with dinner and the use of their washer and dryer (as if time with my nieces and nephews isn't payment enough.) So, I loaded my tons of laundry into my car and headed over to their house right after school yesterday. The little ones were all in good spirits. They were very excited to see me and had that delightful childish curiosity about everything I was doing.

Anyway, while my sister-in-law finished cooking the delicious dinner, I started right away with putting my laundry in the washer so that I wouldn't have to be there all night to get it finished. Of course, all three kids wanted to watch me do it. My nephew (4 and 1/2) was telling about everything in the room. My youngest niece (19 months) stood on mommy's treadmill marching in place and shaking the support bars trying very hard to get it to work. Once in a while, she would stop, look down by her feet and say, "grrr." Then she'd started marching and shaking again. The question of the night, though, came from my other niece (3 and 1/2). She had been quietly watching me, singing, and occasionally asking a question or two. Finally, her curiosity got the best of her. She said, "Why are you doing what mommy's supposed to do?"

How Rich are You?

I copied this from Emily's blog. It's just a little test to put things into perspective.....

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Weekend Rundown

Friday night:

• Called my sister, Michele, to wish her a Happy Birthday
• Spent some phone time catching up with Grace--She's due with her first baby in just a few weeks.
• Proceeded to spend the rest of the evening vegging on my couch

Saturday:

• Slept in!! Very nice!!
• Ate a hot breakfast, including delicious coffee, while watching 3-2-1 Penguins and Real Simple
• Did some house cleaning, worked out, shopped, and attended the family celebration of Michele's birthday

Sunday:

• Woke up to a few inches of snow--I'm still enjoying the snow, because it came so late in the season.
• Went to church--it was a good service, starting a study of Luke
• Second hour-- our Sunday morning Bible Study group, The Link, discussed Revelation 20 and how knowledge of coming judgement impacts our interaction with non-believers--very thought-provoking, which is always a good thing for me.
• Had lunch with a friend--enjoyed good food and good discussion--I'm pretty sure we solved at least a few of the world's problems
• Relaxed for a while before choir practice. The cruel choir director (my sister, Marah) made us go to practice through hazardous conditions even though all other evening activities were cancelled. Seriously, they decided in the morning to cancel all evening activities. However, it was only about three inches of snow, and the choir is scheduled to sing next Sunday.
• Returned home for a quiet evening of reading. (I just started Twice Adopted by Michael Reagan. It's very good so far.)
• After reading, I watched Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It is officially my longest-running can't-miss show. I'm very excited that I finally figured out how to adjust my rabbit ears so I can see it. Yes, I am still in the stone age with my TV.
• Then, I attended a TeleClass for my new business. I just signed up with The Body Shop At Home. I'm very excited. The products are great, and the Girls Nights Out are fun and relaxing. Plus, the company is very committed to Fair Community Trade. I'd love to tell you what it's all about. If you want more info, just let me know.

Why I love my job

I've survived the morning!

This morning started off in much the same manner as Alexander's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. You know, it was one of those "Murphy's Law" days. First, I hit the snooze a few too many times before actually getting out of bed. Then, while I was taking my shower, I remembered that I had struggled to get some of the last few drops of my body wash out of the bottle yesterday. Only, yesterday I had been in too much of a hurry to transfer a new bottle from my closet to the shower. Then, I had my breakfast cereal half-dry because I had forgotten to stop and get new milk yesterday. Since I was alreay running late, the discovery of the half-inch of snow on my car was not well received. It's not that I dislike snow or that this was all that difficult to remove. It's just that I hadn't expected it, and this was another thing to slow down my trip to school.

So, needless to say, I didn't spend any extra time on my personal appearance. At best, I probably looked frazzled when I finally did get to school. But here's the really good part:
(God really knows when I need those extra boosts.) Today, when I walked in the door, one of the 3-yr.-old preschool students was waiting for his mom while she dropped off his older siblings and talked to their teachers. Now, to put this into perspecitve, he usually only sees me at the beginning of the week (because PK3 only comes on Mon. and Tues. mornings,) and today is chapel day, so I'm wearing a skirt as per school chapel dress code requirements. Anyway, upon seeing me, he stopped his rambunctious play, and said to me (as if in awe), "You look BEAUTIFUL!"

Those three simple words turned my day around. They were also the little reminder I needed to remember the power of words. I love the little ego boosts my students can give me during my days at school. Yet, I very often allow myself to get too busy to say little words of encouragement that could just as easily turn someone else's day around.

Also, the "Murphy's Law Effect" that slowed down my morning so much seemed to turn around when I got to school. That's probably largely due to the fact that everything that went wrong while I was still at home was my own fault, and I was much better prepared for school. The fact that it's Friday and the countdown to the weekend is now down to just a few hours sure doesn't hurt anything, either.

Quotes and Fun Stuff you learn as a music teacher...

...from Music K-8 Magazine.

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." - Victor Hugo

In last centuries B.C., Egyptians considered enemy musicians to be honored citizens and did not harm them. All others were fair game for hideous treatment.

Musicians with Perfect Pitch.....
Julie Andrews
J.S. Bach
Bela Bartok
Ludwig van Beethoven
Miles Davis
Ella Fitzgerald
Glenn Gould
Jimi Hendrix
Yo Yo Ma
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Frank Sinatra
Barbra Streisand
Art Tatum
Brian Wilson
Stevie Wonder
Yanni

"Arguably the longest title on a successful pop tune is Hoagy Carmichael's 'I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin' Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues.' The composer later claimed the song title really ended with "Yank" and the rest was just a joke."

AKAs and Their Real Names
Cher: Cherilyn Sarkasian
LaPierCoolio: Artis Ivey
Grandmaster Flash: Joseph Sadler
LL Cool J: James Todd Smith
MC Hammer: Stanley Kirk Burrell
Queen Latifah: Dana Owens
Snoop Doggy Dog: Calvin Broadus
Vanilla Ice: Robert Van Winkle

"Melophobia" is the fear of all music. "Aulophobia" is the fear of flutes.

• Most cows give more milk when they listen to music.
• Recent research confirms that male mice construct fairly complex songs and sing in the presence of female mice...or their pheremones.
• A cricket's song gets faster as the temperature gets warmer.
• Giraffes completely lack vocal chords.
• Termites eat much faster when they are exposed to loud music

I finally did it!

I started my own blog. Now, I can do more than just read and comment.

I have actually been toying with the idea for a while. The main driving force behind starting the blog now, though, is that I didn't ever get around to writing Christmas cards, and I was hoping this would appease my guilt on not communicating consisitently with my friends. I enjoy reading the blogs of my friends, and I thought it was about time I stopped lurking in "Blog World" and started participating.

Anyway, welcome to my blog. Here, I will sometimes do my best to keep you updated on my oh-so-eventful life, sometimes challenge you with thoughts and questions, and sometimes pass on tidbits that have amused or challenged me. Happy reading!.....And please, leave lots of comments.