My Birthday Blog Wish

Wow!! Thank you friends and family for all the Happy Birthday wishes via Facebook, Twitter, email phone calls and cards! It has been a wonderful day, indeed!

I Do Have a Birthday Request...

For those of you following the budget crisis in Texas and the pending effects on the Texas Education System, I dusted off my old summertime blog to list some suggestions to make your voice heard, as well as some sites for more information. Many of these links have been forwarded to me by friends and family of varied political backgrounds. Plain and simple. This should not be about politics. This should be about what's best for children.


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Stand up for Texas schools at the TX Capitol on March 12:
Save Texas Schools will hold a rally and march at the State Capitol on March 12, 2011. They are expecting thousands of parents, teachers, students, community members, business owners, and faith organizations to attend.

DATE: Saturday, March 12, 2011
TIME/PLACE: March: 11:00 a.m. starting from 12th & Trinity (1 block east of the Capitol grounds)
Rally: Noon – 2:00 p.m. at the Texas State Capitol on the South Steps, Congress Ave. & 11th St.

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Apples and Petitions
For those who have Spring Break vacation plans and can’t be in Austin to show support, Representative Mike Villarreal has put together a petition in support of public education you can sign on-line (while at a basketball game, if you have the right phone) and an Apple a Day Keeps the Education Budget Cuts at Bay effort (sending apples to the Governor with notes of support for education). You can get more information here: http://www.mikevillarreal.com/Action/SignaPetition/tabid/81/Default.aspx_ and here: http://www.mikevillarreal.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=N6G6Q66doag=&tabid=122.

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Business and Babs (as if she was ever called "Babs" - I need some sleep...)
The fight for education is not a partisan matter. The Texas Association of Business, one of the most conservative groups in the state, has come out against the proposed budget (http://www.texastribune.org/texas-taxes/2011-budget-shortfall/business-leaders-sound-alarm-about-education-cuts/) and former First Lady Barbara Bush wrote a compelling editorial recently printed in the Houston Chronicle:  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/7414727.html.   Parents across the state, from every corner of the political spectrum are rightly outraged.

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Statistically Speaking
It’s a matter of priority.  As a state, we have to decide: are we or are we not committed to the futures of our young people? And, in turn, are we committed to our state’s economic future? Today, before the proposed cuts, Texas ranks 45th of all states in per pupil funding, and 36th in high school graduation.  We are near the bottom in SAT scores and literacy.

No school district in Texas can withstand the proposed cuts without severely impacting their services to our children. This is an important time for all of us to be educated on the issue and vocal.

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Here are some sites for more information:

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/texas-education-agency/what-98-billion-in-tx-school-cuts-looks-like/

http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/perry-dont-blame-state-for-teacher-layoffs-1310392.html

http://www.mysanantonio.com/default/article/Education-cutsbad-for-economy-968744.php

http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10306:texas-budget-cuts-would-sink-education&catid=155:nonprofit-newswire&Itemid=986

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/politics/fine-arts-students-fear-funding-cuts

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/politics/texas_legislature/article/Experts-warn-cuts-are-recipe-for-failure-1044268.php

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20110224-jennifer-nagorka-texas-history-of-habitually-underfunding-education.ece

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703362804576184642620311546.html

http://www.tasb.org/legislative/resources/documents/talking2010.pdf

And, for the really ambitious:

http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Public_Education/Finance_PublicEd_3dEd_1001.pdf


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Look, Ma! No hands. (That comment is for my mother.)

Bacon

(Apparently writing that I'm going to blog more regularly is lot like saying I am going to be more healthy about what I eat, and then getting up the next morning and frying bacon...!)

Dog Days of Summer
Serious backlog of blog matter about to be unleashed. End of July, August and start of September were so busy and fun. Hmmm, where to start?

I Have Fat Thumbs, But They Have Big Hats

My husband and his friends wore major-western wear to the Senior Swing Dance when he was in High School - in the days when "text" and "friend" didn't have a verb-form. But, back to the thumbs, it's true. The more I attempt all things social media, the more I realize how fat my thumbs are.

I Text Clumsy. 

I undulate between trying 2 b brief with shrthnd wrds + #'s, to full-on sentences complete with layers of punctuation. But, woo-hoo, I'm trying. This and other social media mediums engage me from my desktop 2 my iphone. I might LOL, but I try not 2 text-swear, even with letters-only. It's way too permanent (and email-able.) Unlike most current High School-age kids, who text like they are breathing air, I am SO uncool in my attempts- but, I'm seriously OK with that.

Facebook a.k.a. Socially Acceptable Voyerism

Yep, that pretty much sums up FB. In someways its a fantastic way to reconnect with folks we knew in High School and College, and for me, to also to keep in touch with my seventeen nieces and nephews, plus my mom, sister, in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles and SA, San Marcos and Dallas friends. We can all look at each others' vacation and cute-kids photos, wish each other happy birthday, bemoan Mondays and celebrate Fridays. Lately, it been fun watching my husband's HS friends reminisce over old photos (such as the one above) as they gear-up for a big reunion.

Linkedin - When You Need to Look Like You Are Working

Linkedin is more useful than that subhead, but it does have some truth to it. I have several clients that use it to announce something lengthier than the character count on Twitter allows. Or they go update their Linkedin profile when they are having FB withdrawal at work, since some companies don't allow FB access on work computers. Yes, we're on to you...

Twitter -  A Forum 4 Short, Excited, Random Thoughts

Still trying to find a real use for me with Twitter. Seems like people taking turns standing at the top of a mountain yelling a random thought and hoping that someone will hear (read) it and find it compelling in someway. Here's the former meaning of the word "twitter" for me, (in context): "She went all a twitter with excitement, when she noticed the sale price of the shoes!" as said, most likely, by some elderly relative of mine out in West Texas. (p.s. did you notice how I slipped that "4" in to my subhead? I'm such such dork! (There, Twitter that.))

Blog Therapy - Hey, that's what we're doing right now.

And I thank you for listening, oh, I mean reading! I am new to blogging and obviously have a ton to learn (and edit.) I started as a way to do something with all the beautiful images that my husband shoots as we're doing family stuff. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad wrote travel articles in the summer (he was a Journalism professor during the rest of the year.) We even slightly paralleled one of his stories with our recent trip to to the SA Missions, though dad's version wasn't by bicycle! As for live-stream blogging, I'd rather blog post-event instead. I want to enjoy the "doings" and the interaction with my family, including breaking up sibling arguments - which I need to write more of those down. It's funny stuff, after the fact, of course. "Because I said so." I have a feeling that blogging regularly is going to be a lot like dental floss for me. Honestly, I'll do it with great vigor - when I remember to, that is. [Side note: I did recently turn OFF the Adsense set-up from Blogger, since there were some ads showing up that just didn't sit well with me or my brand (!)]

Some of The Others:

I love YouTube, until I don't. Snapfish, Picaso and Shutterfly are super useful in the "friends and family" image-swap realm. Flicker doesn't do that much for me. Delicious and StumbleUpon are interesting, but can become time-vacuums. iChat is really useful on projects where we are all over the country, but it does require that I brush my hair and at least put on lipstick. Chatroulette, on the other hand, is not even worth the time to set-it up to try it - it also falls into a"seriously creepy" category.

I've Got Blisters on My Fingers! (Which Beatle yells that?)

It's been really good to get in there and see what some of my clients are up against as they try out social media and the allure of using it for PR/Marketing. For now, I'm happy wandering through the current battery of social media stuff and I welcome whatever is next. Here are my current resolutions: I will continue to practice safe text. I will try not to be obsessive on FB and Linkedin. I will try to find something useful about Twitter (thank you, Brett for your excellent, ongoing newsletter to that effect.) I will try to blog with some consistency. I will be open to whatever's next, unless it's creepy. I do reserve the right to be a curiously, stumbling dork. I particularly like my blog entry where I forgot to turn off the grammar/spell check mode. Things like that, I consider to be in-line with the Amish quilters who leave something imperfect in every quilt, because, really, only God is perfect. And goodness knows that anything termed "Social Media" could never be perfect.

A Fourth of July to Remember

Parades, A Swimming Hole and Fireworks

Saturday July 3, in morning, we marched in the San Antonio inner-city 'burb of Terrell Hills "Mayberry-esque" parade. Our son walked with buddies from his Cub Scout Pack and our daughter rode on a red, white and blue decorated trailer with some of her friends and their families. At the end of the parade, the kids enjoyed hot dogs and pizza, face painting, a bounce house, a water slide and a whole bunch of other activities. Mark and I got to catch-up with a bunch of friends that we hadn't seen in a while.

Two Tons of Stuff to Do (and Eat)
Later that afternoon, we joined friends at a "gi-normous" party over on Lake Placid (near Seguin, Texas.) The host does this party every two years. He hangs a huge flag from the trees, does a BBQ cook-off and puts out rows and rows of tables for guests to set out their side dishes and desserts (and we're talking close to one hundred feet of side dishes and desserts.) The kids swim and play in the swimming hole that's off to the side of the house and out of the way of lake traffic. The host also does a great job of tying the day back to it's meaning by reading the Declaration of Independence and then he speaks for a moment about the men and women in the armed-services serving our country to protect our freedom. And after the early evening meal, Texas' best swing band, Two Tons of Steel performs while folks dance and lounge on the lawn. It was just awesome!

Take the Photo Opportunity When It's Handed to You
I can't believe that first photo really happened for real either, but it did. The kids had just come back from the swimming hole to get cleaned up for the pre-dinner prayer and meal.

"Hey, y'all go jump around and catch some bubbles in front of that giant flag over there."

Not Done Yet
On Sunday, July 4, we attended a fun pool party/cook-out with some friends. That evening, the group went over to another family's house to watch the San Antonio Country Club fireworks from their front lawn on Burr Road. It was a great show, complete with sparklers and patriotic music provided by the iphone (plus speakers) of one of the dad's in our group.

Visions of Fireworks Danced in Their Heads

After showering away all the day's sunscreen and bug-spray, the kids fell into their beds, exhausted. Now, that was a Fourth of July they will remember!

San Antonio Mission Trail

Get On Your Bike And Ride

Still unfurling some blog-backlog... On Saturday, June 26, we biked the trails between Mission San José and Mission Espada. Most of the trail follows the San Antonio River as it becomes a natural water-way. We saw heron, cranes and turtles. There were massive fields of fading wildflowers, tall oak, pecan and bald cypress trees as well as native mesquite and acacia (or huisache) trees - finishing up their fluffy yellow bloom. Everything smelled sweetly-scented during our shade and water breaks.

A Trail with a Mission (or four or five)

From 1718 to 1731, Spanish settlers built a series of missions along the San Antonio river. They are as follows: Mission Conception, Mission San José, Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission Espada. The buildings and their grounds are preserved and maintained by the National Parks Service. We began our ride from the parking lot at the visitors center at Mission San Jose, rode to Mission Espada and then back to Mission San Jose. Along the hike and bike trail, you see the relationship of the river with the old aqueducts and dams (waterfalls) build by the friars and Native Americans for field irrigation. The Alamo (it's full name is Mission San Antonio de Valero) is part of this series of missions too, but it is managed by Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Inc. (DRT).

Some Education Along The Way

We were on the trails for about three hours, with several stops here and there to look at things, drink more water and give encouragement to our training-wheeled rider. We spent about thirty minutes in the visitors center at Mission Espada where we ran into our son's second grade teacher. She volunteers there and showed the kids one of the old weaving looms and let them pull cotton bolls and seeds (which are now planted in our garden.) No, we're not growing our own blankets and clothes, but it's good for the kids to explore the connections.

Where's the Snow Cone Man When You Need One?

There is almost always a snow cone man (or three) somewhere along the river trail, but that day they were no where to be found. That was about the only thing missing from a very nice Saturday morning bike ride.

To The Grandparents House We Went

(You can read that like the "Over the River and Through the Woods" song or Yoda style - whichever.) We went to Giddings, Texas to visit Mark's folks. It's fun for the kids to run around the farm and we all eat way too much while we're there. Boy, can Gramma and Grandpa cook! They send you home with home-grown canned tomatoes and green beans. And Aunt Debbie brings over homemade jelly and pickles. Her pickled carrot sticks are coveted among the family - which is a BIG family. My children are the 18th and 19th of the first cousins. And I'm not telling how many times over I'm a great-aunt.

Father's Day in Bastrop's Lost Pines

Sunday morning we got our over-fed butt's out of bed and went over to the state park in Bastrop, Texas to hike for a couple of hours. "Lost Pines" is a top five example of the work done by the CCC during the depression. The trails are beautiful. With tall pine trees and a fern-laden forest floor, it seems like you are in another world - well, from the West Texas summers I knew as a child, where I'm as tall as the native trees. Lost Pines also has a community pool, golf course, way-cool CCC-built cabins and plenty of tent camping areas. It would be fun to go back and stay there with a big group in the fall, when it's cooler.

BBQ Eight Days A Week in Lockhart?
We haven't worked our way up to eight days a week (like the sign at Black's BBQ - thank you, Beetles) and I don't think you can hike or bike enough to undo that much of Bar-B-Que, but we did manage BBQ two days in row that weekend. Lockhart, Texas is a BBQ Mecca (self-proclaimed BBQ Capital of Texas and for good reason) and not too far off course on our way from San Antonio to Giddings. We went to Smitty's Market for early lunch Saturday and then to Black's Barbeque for late lunch on Sunday after the Lost Pines hike. Both were good, and there are at least two more well-established BBQ joints to hit next time we're through there.

Noisy Katydids, Baby Toads and Colorful Grasshoppers

We brought friends with us to hike some of the trails of Government Canyon State Park, the morning of Sunday, June 13.  We hiked appx. 7.75 miles through beautiful South Texas landscape. Leave No Trace practices are important in this park as much (appx 80%) of the park is in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone. Katydids and grasshoppers were aplenty, munching on leaves and providing a loud underlying hum of natural white noise. When the path wound along creek beds, the trail edges moved with tiny toads. The kids enjoyed finding and munching on ripe Algarita berries (wild Texas currants) along the path. Yes, we had the "don't eat any berry you see without checking with a grown up" conversation.

Step Tall and Keep Those Fingers Snapping

We haven't attended one of these, but this park offers "Hiku Hikes." I'm going to refrain from sarcasm on that one because my kids would probably totally dig something like that (well, me too, for that matter.) Might have to go back and try it. Ah, Grasshopper.

Just Shy of Tarzan-Heat

We started our hike fairly early in the morning, but should have started about an hour earlier. The heat was on the verge of sweltering-stage as we came off the trail around noon. Under tree cover there had been plenty of good cool breezes, but again, it would have been better to start earlier. (My fault - it helps if I remember to turn the alarm on after setting it. I'm now using the app for that.)

And Why is Sonic Ice So Good?

After we had re-visited the visitors center (a really nice one btw - well-done TPWD!), we loaded in the car and left the park in search of icy-cold drinks. Mark made homegrown tomato sandwiches (Yum!) and passed around the potato chips and pickle wedges, I drove and our friend Maddie map-app-ed the nearest Sonic. We'd all had plenty of drinking water on the trails and still had some for the car ride home, a fresh-made iced tea or limeade really hits the spot, post-hike.