Skip to main content

The Tough Go Shopping

The front page of the newspaper today featured "Chaos hits Can-Do U.S. Ethic Hard". Barely 17% of people surveyed believe that the US is headed in the right direction, but it does beg the question of what the right direction is. According to this article, people feel lost because they have no control over events, especially natural disasters. Why is that? Have we really lost our "pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps" attitude? No. We've just traded the boots for 99-cent tennis shoes made in China. We have the can-do attitude, but sold the know-how to retail developers.

A couple of years ago, I asked a former home-ec. (or what ever they call it these days) teacher why sewing is no longer in the high school. The response was that since a person could buy a $5 t-shirt at Wal-Mart, it was a waste of resources to teach something that wasn't necessary. This teacher wore Hawaiian shirts every day, so pointing out that a $5 t-shirt might not always be appropriate would have been a "waste of resources".

If you know how to do something, things don't seem so chaotic. The flood is catestrophic because you never go around to putting all those family photos on disk and a week without work destroys the delicate balance you've been holding over you bills. It is true that the health and safety of loved ones matters the most, but with $15,000 of credit card debt you may just be wishing you had floated away along with the house. If $5/gal. gas is gonna put you in the poor house, something is wrong with your lifestyle.

I admit I don't love the weather where I live. I can, however, afford my house and bike to school if I need to or walk. I garden. I shop at garage sales. I don't loose sleep over $5/gal gas. I've seen this list going around the 'net and thought I'd post what I can do or have done (in bold). What about you?

100 Things You can Make Yourself

1. Applesauce
2. Spaghetti sauce
3. Barbecue sauce
4. Maple syrup
5. Jelly
6. Peanut butter
7. Mayonnaise
8. Bacon
9. Guacamole
10. Pesto
11. Salsa
12. Mango salsa
13. Vanilla extract
14. Hummus
15. Coffee
16. Tofu
17. Gravy
18. Chocolate kisses
19. Wedding cake
20. Stuffing
21. Rootbeer
22. Ginger Ale
23. Pancake mix
24. Pudding pops
25. Ice cream
26. Chicken Nuggets
27. Pizza
28. Pasta
29. Pickles
30. Wine
31. Beer
32. Whiskey
33. Dog treats
34. Playdough
35. Fingerpaint
36. Bubbles
37. Books
38. Laundry detergent
39. All purpose household cleaner
40. Soap
41. Shampoo
42. Hair conditioner
43. Moisturizer
44. Mouthwash
45. Baskets
46. Incense
47. Paper
48. Rubber stamps
49. Jewelry
50. Curtains
51. Rugs
52. Candles
53. Camera
54. CD Cases
55. Bookshelves
56. Couches
57. Tables
58. Stool
59. Sweater
60. Skirt
61. Poncho
62. Coat
63. Blouse
64. Shorts
65. Gloves
66. Socks
67. Tree fort
68. Back yard shed
69. Gazebo
70. Windmill
71. Birdhouse
72. Compost
73. Biodiesel
74. Solar power generator
75. House
76. Snowshoes
77. Sun clock
78. Bread
79. Potato chips
80. Pretzels
81. Donuts
82. Sausages
83. Bagels
84. A pinata
85. Crayons
86. Gnocchi
87. A guitar
88. 4th of July sparklers
89. A lava lamp
90. Tortillas
91. Kimchi
92. A hula hoop
93. A loofah
94. Cheese
95. 3D glasses
96. A Kite
97. An igloo
98. Modeling clay
99. Crossword puzzles
100. Cuff links

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“They Don’t Get It”

I hear that a lot these days. It used to be mostly from various teens trying to negotiate the drama unfolding in their lives as they wandered into that no-man’s land between adult and child. These days it’s from adults trying to navigate the education scene these days. So many people talking and no one listening. The other day I was reading a post by a blogger I’ve been following for several years. Before there was such a thing as “blogging.” We all know spring is IEP review season. This blogger wrote about his daughter’s. Among the various elements, there was the discussion about the state assessment tests. She did not pass. There was discussion about what this means… and why said student needed to pass this test. Would she be taking a modified test? While reading, all I could think about was what would happen to that child as she entered middle school and high school. A history of not passing the assessment test vs. teachers who will now be evaluated on how many students pass t...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Cruelest Month

I know T.S. Eliot favored April as the most cruel, but we teachers know that May is… even more so these days. Most importantly, it is the final testing month. National ‘assessments, state ‘assessments’, district ‘assessments’, school ‘assessments’… on and on. It’s impossible to actually get anything done. Toss in graduation activities, planning for the upcoming year and the 2011 bonus, lay-offs and transfers, and you have to wonder if it wouldn’t be better to save money by simply shutting down school entirely except for a few test proctors. Meanwhile, there seems an air of hopelessness permeating the education world. Plans to lay-off thousands are coming to fruition. Schools are being closed, despite protests. Charters are increasing where they can whether they should not. Unions have lost a lot ground and teachers are trying to decide if it’s even worth it any more to continue talking about education . ( not that I blame anyone for that, we all have lives to live ) For myself, I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Campaign Promises

While purusing the Sunday paper, I came across an article describing some local candidate forum held over the weekend. Apprently they either weren't able to say a lot or what they said was pretty boring because the article was skimpy on specifics. What caught my eye was a position of Randy Dutton. He wants "higher standards for teachers." My interest was piqued... what kind of standards? In looking at his website, apparently those standards will be raised by carrying a gun to school, finally; "full days of school"-whatever that means - personally I'd love to put in business hours. No more 5 am wake ups; increasing the number of k-8 schools - because those kindergartners don't swear enough; sending disruptive students to placed like Habit for Humanity - babysitting is what people volunteer for; and teaching more American History- too bad that with all the testing, no one ever gets past the Civil War... I'm not sure how any of these apply to teachers, ...
Post a Comment
Read more