It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities
~~ Joanne Rowling ~~
Thought of the Day - 6/4/09
Thought of the Day - 6/3/09
God is more interested in our character than our comfort.
~~ My friend, Chris ~~
Today I Am Thankful - 6/3/09
For years, on and off, I have kept a Gratitude journal. Instead of writing down what I am thankful for in my journal (because it is now full) I will periodically share what I am thankful for here at All Things Cherished.
Today I am thankful for...
1. For the stimulus money I received so I could pay to get my car inspected (which was two months overdue).
2. For the TV that distracts me when I get frustrated or depressed.
3. For friends that keep me on task.
Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite Ways to Pass the Time
Past times and hobbies that I cherish are (in no particular order)...
- Sleeping, especially naps.
- Eating chocolate.
- Cuddling with my Chihuahuas.
- Cuddling with my children.
- Reading mystery novels and best sellers.
- Blogging.
- Reading others' blogs.
- Watching my favorite TV shows.
- Taking photographs with my new Kodak EasyShare camera. (Thank goodness for rental businesses like Aaron's.)
- Scrapbooking. (Check out my scrapbooking cards and layouts at 365 Day of Memories.)
For more list on many topics, go Oh Amanda.
Thought of the Day - 6/2/09
Love is like a butterfly . . .
it goes where it pleases
and pleases wherever it goes.
Family Minute #52
What Is the Most Vicious, Competitive Sport In the World?
Parenting. That’s right, parenting. I mean, think about it...we fight to make sure our children go to the best school, get the best teacher and make the best grades. We compete to get our child the lead role in the school play. We fight to get them on three different sports teams at one time... then fight to make sure they’re in the starting line-up. And we do it all to give our child the competitive edge and a better life, right? Or, is it really us parents who competing with one another? And who is the winner in the end? Think about it...
Remember your family first.
Make Me Laugh Monday - Laughter
Here's something so cute it's guaranteed to relieve your stress. When the little boy appears on your screen, use your mouse to move him across the page. Make sure your speakers are on. This is sure to make you laugh.
Join me in the fun and giggles of making Mondays a better day by sharing some laughs. Add your link to your Make Me Laugh Monday post to Mr. Linky below. (All links not leading directly to your post will be deleted.) All posts should be funny in some way. Yes, this is up to interpretation. Ideas include riddles, funny family stories, comic strips, jokes, silly graphics, funny lyrics, hilarious photos, etc. Please don't leave me to snicker all alone. I'm sure YOU have something funny to share.
To Vent or Not to Vent
For most of us, we began our blogging experience with one, two, or both of the following goals in mind:
1. As an outlet to vent our frustrations of motherhood, womanhood, and adulthood.
2. To chronicle the everyday life, as well as the milestones and special memories, of our children as so we never forget.
As our blogs grow in popularity, not only strangers (now our "blogger" buddies), but our family and close friends have begun reading and commenting. It is no longer possible to really vent about the things we want and need to in order to maintain some balance of sanity. We don't want to offend a friend, insult a teacher, embarrass our children, or start a family feud... so we don't write about some of the things we are feeling. We just sit and wonder why we don't feel we have the freedom to write and say what we want on our own blog.
Kinzua Dam
Pronounced "kin-zoo" by local residents and "kin-zew-uh" in the Seneca language. Its construction in the 1960's was controversial because it involved the breaking of one of the country's oldest treaties. It forced the departure of Pennsylvania's last Native Americans, the Senecas, who now live nearby on the northern shores of the flooded land near Salamanca, New York. In addition to flood control and power generation, it created Pennsylvania's deepest inland lake, the Allegheny Reservoir, also known as Kinzua Lake.
Kinzua Dam is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River. A lawsuit against breaking the U.S. treaty which guaranteed perpetual Seneca ownership of the land had been argued by the Society of Friends (Quakers) but it lost in Federal Court. The creation of the dam also forced the displacement of the Boy Scout Camp Olmsted, owned by the Chief Cornplanter Council. The camp had once been located along the Allegheny River bottom but had to be moved up the hillside some distance. The once-nearly flat camp now has one of the steepest grades of any Boy Scout Camp in America.
Authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1936, 1938, and 1941, actual construction on the dam was begun by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1960 and completed in 1965. The main purpose of the dam is flood control on the Allegheny River and Ohio River. This dam controls drainage on a watershed of 2,180 square miles (5,646 km) or an area twice the size of the state of Rhode Island. Side benefits derived from the dam include drought control, hydroelectric power production, and recreation. The total cost of construction was approximately $108 million. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kinzua more than paid for itself in 1972 when tropical storm Agnes dumped continual heavy rains on the watershed, bringing the reservoir to within three feet of its maximum storage capacity. Over $247 million in downstream damages were prevented.
Engineering Data:
Length of dam: 1,897 feet (578 m)
Maximum height of dam: 179 feet (55 m)
Earthfill: 3,000,000 cubic yards (2,293,635 m)
Concrete: 500,000 cubic yards (382,272 m)
Penstocks (pipes through dam),diameter:19 feet (5.8 m)
The nearest city to the dam is Warren, Pennsylvania and is the dam is situated six miles east of the city on Route 59. It was open for public tours (until 9/11/2001) but now is closed for "national security". It is located within the 500,000 acres (2,023 km) Allegheny National forest in northwestern Pennsylvania. A boat marina and beach are located nearby.
Completely surrounded by lush forest, the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir are the heart of one of the largest and most popular outdoor recreation areas in the northeastern United States. The Allegheny Reservoir spans the border between western Pennsylvania and New York, and offers year-round 
recreational opportunities including swimming, boating, camping, fishing, and stunning fall foliage.
I write about Kinzua Dam because as I was growing up my family and I went camping near the lake for weeks/months at a time during the summer. We could only access "our" camp site via boat. It would take about 8 trips from the dock to the camp site due to all the gear, clothes, and people. The best part of camping was the many people that gathered -- parents, maternal grandparents, paternal grandmother, uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings, friends of parents, friends of siblings, LOTS of people. We fished, skied, hiked, caught newts, had scavenger hunts, went sight-seeing via the boat, picked blackberries, visited local historical sites and stores . . . and most of all had fun and were together.
Thought of the Day - 5/31/09
Music, artwork, or any kind of creative expression is an excellent escape.
QOTW - Music
Each week, starting today, I will be posting a QOTW (Question of the Week) so you can join in and so we can get to know each other better.
Today's question:
What kind of music do you enjoy?
I listen to various genres... today's country, classic country, oldies from the 50s & 60s, Christmas, contemporary Christian, 80's soft rock, pop. Pretty much anything but heavy metal, rap, and opera.
Around the 'Net - iMom
iMOM Helps Mothers of All Ages by Providing Advice and Encouragement Where and When They Need It
Family First, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing research, resources and advice aimed at strengthening the family, launched iMOM, a motherhood program to complement the organization’s popular All Pro Dad program. iMOM is designed for mothers of all ages and backgrounds who seek to build lasting, meaningful relationships with their children. The program supports mothers on this journey by providing them with information, ideas, and encouragement to help nurture their children into becoming wise, healthy, purposeful, and relationally-focused.
iMOM already is receiving support from notable moms, including Kathy Ireland – supermodel turned lifestyle designer – who is an official ambassador for the organization. Serving as Ambassadors with Kathy Ireland are Lauren Dungy, a mom and the wife of Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy, and acclaimed actress, vocalist, and mom, Mary Donnelly Haskell.
ADHD and Organization
ADHD & Organization - Can They co-Exist?
Just because you have ADHD doesn't mean you have to be disorganized. In fact there are many people with ADHD who are incredibly well organized. Being organized has helped them thrive. However, if you have ADHD it is often more difficult for you to get organized and stay that way.
What does being organized mean?
Being organized is not about putting things away and everything being neat and ready for company. It is about how you function in your environment. It means that you control your environment, your things and your time, instead of your environment controlling you. Organization is how you manage your things, your time, and your tasks.
What about ADHD contributes to disorganization?
ADHD involves your brain's frontal lobe which acts as the "executive functioning" area of your brain. This is the part of your brain that allows you to make decisions, set rules, prioritize, assign responsibilities, help you focus and remember.
Getting organized involves several steps that are often done in a specific order.
1. Decision Making -- Decide what you need and what you don't need.
2. Setting Rules -- Categorize what you have left.
3. Assigning Responsibilities -- Assign a place to keep these things and put them away
4. Focusing and Remembering -- Keep everything organized on an ongoing basis.
To follow these steps to get organized and then to stay "organized" once you must have systems in place and keep on track while you are performing tasks which are less than stimulating. When you look at it this way it is no wonder that people with ADHD have trouble being organized.
People with ADHD have trouble focusing on routine tasks...is there anything more routine (and boring) than opening mail, paying bills and filing? How about doing laundry and putting away clothes?
People with ADHD have trouble filtering out distractions. Going through old clothes in your closet is just not that exciting. How can you stay focused on the one thing that you are trying to get done when you hear "You've got mail!" or the phone rings? Not only do you lose your place on the stack of papers you were working on but you get pulled completely off task. It might be hours, days or even weeks until you get back to that pile.
If it is so hard to be organized why should I bother?
One of the ironies of ADHD life is that the more organized you are and the more routines you have in your schedule and life, the easier it will be for you to function. What organization does is allow you to NOT have to focus on this minutia. Once organizing becomes routine you don't have to think about where something goes or where to find something that you put away. Once you have a schedule for getting up and out of the house in the morning you don't have to worry about what to do 1st, 2nd, and 3rd or whether or not you will make it to work on time. Once you have schedules and routines you don't have to hunt all over the house for your bills and when you finally track them all down pay them late.
Let's get organized:
Realize that you are NOT perfect. You don't have to have a perfect system and there are no set rules to follow. The system you create only needs to make sense to you.
Be yourself. Don't try to fit someone else's mold. Instead, create systems and routines that reflect your personality and make them fun. Remember that one great thing about ADHD is the ability to be creative and brainstorm. Come up with the wackiest way to organize your environment. That will probably the way it will work best for you.
Learn to say "NO.” Before deciding to take on a new responsibility make sure you have the time and ability to add it to your current schedule. If you don't have the time decide which activity from your current schedule you will stop.
Use broad categories for filing and organizing. Depending on how you think you can file all banking things together and all credit cards together. They don't need individual files unless that would help you.
Label everything. Remember people with ADHD tend not to remember "unimportant" details like which drawer they put their bank statements in or which refrigerator drawer holds the fruit or which list is for phone calls. Labeling helps you to find things and put them away.
Create Mini-Tasks. Break up all tasks into mini-tasks that take 10 - 15 minutes each. Smaller tasks are easier to do and to schedule.
Manage organization energy bursts. Work for 5, 10 or 20 minutes and then, even if you aren't done, stop. If you have a list of mini-tasks set up you should have a list of things you can accomplish fairly quickly.
If it works stick with it. When you are faced with organizing something new, look at the systems you have that work and try to figure out why it works. Build onto these systems or create new ones that are similar.
Use memory tricks. Don't just try to remember things, use multiple senses. Say it aloud to yourself, tell someone, sing it, write it down and keep the note somewhere that you will really see. If it is a routine or habit you are trying to create make a rhyme out of the sequence of things you want to accomplish, create a sign and post the new habit where you will be doing it.
Ask for help. Often having someone to keep you company is enough to get many people moving and stay on task. Maybe you can volunteer to keep a friend company if they keep you company?
Get your kids help. Tell your kids what you are going to do. They love catching parents "misbehaving." Most people will do anything to avoid being caught by their children.
Be Flexible. Remember life happens. Sometimes despite your best planning things don't always work out the way you want them to. There are many ways to be organized - you just need to find the way that works for you.
P.S. I have ADD.
What's Your Inner Color?
Your Inner Color is Blue |
 Your Personality: Your natural warmth and intuition nurtures those around you. You are accepting and always follow your heart. You in Love: Relationships are your top priority, and this includes love. You are most happy when you are serious with someone. Your Career: You need to help others in your job to feel satisfied. You would be a great nurse, psychologist, or counselor. |
Family Minute #51
In his book, Quiet Strength, Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy talks about how he didn’t get to hug his son, Jamie, when Jamie left the house for the airport after the Thanksgiving holiday. Jamie was in a rush to catch his flight. But Tony knew he’d see his son again soon and would get his hug then. Well, Tony never got to hug Jamie again. And at his son’s funeral, Tony said “Parents, hug your kids every chance you get. Tell them that you love them every chance you get. You don’t know when it’s going to be the last time.” Mom, Dad, you never know what tomorrow will bring, so remember . . . hug your child today and remember . . .
Remember your family first.
Abundance
Abundance: What It Is and What It Isn't
Here's a concept that is the basis of many of my thoughts and practices about abundance: Abundance and money are not the same. Nor is either the same as prosperity. We can learn about abundance using money as a vehicle, but the two are not synonymous. I believe that if we all unhook from the belief that money and prosperity and abundance are the same, we will experience more of all three! Each of us has a right to be inundated with all three, if that is our desire.
Someone can have lots of money, yet live in poverty consciousness. Someone can easily meet financial commitments, yet feel sadly lacking in confidence or friends or competence or joy. We can use anything to experience abundance: the ocean, food, mountains, paper, trust, money, confidence, skills, anything! Abundance is about unlimited consciousness, not physical things. The consciousness of abundance creates those things.
What Season Are You?
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