Old Dogs Summary

It's hard to believe that I have come to the end of my "Old Dogs" class. Must be that the old adage is true, "Time flies when you're having fun!" I would have to say that all in all, the class was fun and I did discover and learn some new things in the "cyber-world". Aside from the activities, that I will talk about later, what I really enjoyed the most was being able to share what I learned with those I work with as we helped each other complete each weeks activity. I also enjoyed reading the blogs and seeing what others in our 4cls were learning. I started to feel a connection and camaraderie with each one.

As for the activities: Week one- I am now the proud owner of a NYPL card. Don't I feel important having such a resource available to me?! I have to laugh. My kids watch Arthur on PBS and they have this great song that I often chant as a mantra...."Having fun isn't hard, when you've got a library card!"

Week two- I never thought I'd have one, but now I do. My very own blog! I think this was the hardest week of all as I endeavored to come up with some catchy little title that would reflect a little bit of me. Not sure I succeeded at catchy, but I am now a part of the blogging community.

Week Three-I was really challenged through the video "71/2 habits of a life long learner". It helped to motivate and solidify my resolve to continue my education starting this fall. I am officially on the path of completing my college education.

Week Four / Five/ Six- I was already a digital camera user. In these weeks I was introduced to a new photo-sharing site. I really liked their editing tools and had fun adding snow to a picture so that it would match the theme of my blog entry.

Week Seven- Image generators are a blast. I had used them before without knowing their official name. I had a great time with them and lots of bonding time with my family as we laughed and played together on the computer.

Week eight- Pamela gave us all a break to alleviate any stress.

Week Nine- Social bookmarking was a new concept for me. Although I didn't sign up for it, I did benefit from my browsing through it. I was able to find several more sites that offer free PowerPoint templates. As, I am in charge of that part of our church service, it was nice to be able to find those sites through networking and add to my collection of templates.

Week ten- I finally found out what that little orange square, that I'd been seeing around, meant! RSS Feeds. I can see the benefits of subscribing to these and did so with a few of my favorite sites.

Week Eleven- I had used clip-art in the past but was reminded of its usefulness and the resource of free downloads through Microsoft. Since this rediscovery, I have used the site on many occasions to download images. I used it for the front cover of our new church directory that I made as well as adding an image to our church website. I know this will continue to be a useful resource for me.

Week Twelve- I am not an audio book listener, but it was fun to browse the NYPL site and to learn about this new form of lending. I did listen to a favorite children's book, "the Emperor's New Clothes." It might me a nice activity for the kids to do. I also placed a hold on the newest James Patterson book, "Sunday's at Tiffany's". I am 35th on the waiting list and will receive an email when it becomes available. Who will come through first? Our own 4cls or NYPL? We shall see, as I also have this title reserved through our own system, though I will have to read it myself if 4cls comes first. I can't wait!

Week Thirteen-I had victory in figuring out how to post my favorite you tube video to my blog!

Week Fourteen-Pod casts. I don't think I will use them regularly at this point, but can see the benefit. I do remember using them in the past when there was a program on a TV channel that we didn't get. It was nice at the time, to still be able to catch the episode the following morning. It was as if we didn't miss it at all. That was cool.

Week Fifteen /Sixteen- Not sure what topics, I may like to explore in the future. I did enjoy all my learning, though typically I like a one on one teaching style better. I like to have someone show me how and then let me try it out on my own. So, though I did learn, I think I may have been able to learn more thoroughly had I been taking an actual class instead of a self-paced, self-discovery type of class.

So that's my "Old Dogs" experience in summary. Thanks so much to Pamela for organizing, encouraging, and cheering us on along this journey. Its been great!

Old Dogs and YouTube

Way back in the beginning of "Old Dogs" I had wanted to post this YouTube video on my blog site, but was unable to figure out how to do it. Since, I now have it on my blog, it must mean something has clicked in my brain through this class I am taking. My thanks to those who are encouraging me to learn and try new things. I didn't even get frustrated over it. We are making progress here!

Now for my connection with this video:

Several months back a friend sent me a link to this video. My husband and I were so moved by the message portrayed. Around that same time, we were preparing to present a youth Sunday at our church. We got this brilliant idea that our church teens could re-enact this skit for that event. We showed it to our teens and they got really excited about bringing this to our church. Even kids who are typically shy, stepped up and had a part in the drama. Those kids did an excellent job! We were and are so proud of them. They left a lasting impact on our church and got the message across better than any sermon ever could have.

Unfortunately we don't have our own video of the skit to post on YouTube. However, the message is the same. One that I hope touches you as much as it touched us and the others we have shared it with.

Clip Art and Exotic Pets

This weeks assignment for "Old Dogs" to was to browse the Clip Art section of the Micro-Soft website, choose a picture that has to do with your blog title, and then write about it. I am sure the big question floating through your mind is, "Why did you post a picture of a skunk?"

If you were to come to our home for the first time, my husband and children would give you "the official tour." This is a strange behavior that I tease my husband about but stems from our days working for a children's home where we were often required to give tours of our home to supporters of the agency. For him, it is a habit that has never worn off. At any rate in the course of your tour you would be introduced to our beloved family pets.

Let me just stop you before you conjure up images of golden retrievers and Siamese cats. While we do own a fat gray cat named Zorro, our menagerie is much more diverse than that. Our list of pets includes a bearded dragon named Smog who is housed in a giant 50 gallon aquarium. We have a brown anolle lizard that the kids caught in Florida while we on vacation a year ago February. They stuck it in a water bottle and it made the trip home. After the flood that struck our county a few summers back, my son found and adopted a giant yellow spotted salamander while helping a family rake through their flood damaged belongings. And until recently we also shared our home with a hooded rat who my daughter called Rodney.

Since the death of Rodney, my daughter has been doing Internet searches and reading up on her options for what exotic pet she will get next. Today she and I were looking through a rodent magazine that I picked up in the discard pile at the library. We read about hedge hogs, chinchilla's, and guinea pigs. About half way through the magazine was an article on keeping a skunk as a pet. Believe it or not, since I was a child, the skunk has been a favorite animal of mine so I was actually a little warmed to the idea of adding "Daisy" (I already have her named) to our unique collection of creatures. The sad news is that in NY State it is illegal to own a skunk as a pet. (We checked that out on the Internet tonight too).

So, even though I am not a willing participant or enthusiastic about the love and care for the creatures of our home, they do bring joy to my children, will be the topic of family memories in the years to come, and make great objects of conversation for guests that come to our home.

....Oh yeah, and they have helped me complete my blogging requirements for this weeks "Old Dogs" assignment!

Trying out Image Generators

This week for "Old Dogs" we were encouraged to "play" with image generators. When I first read the assignment, I did not know what an image generator was. Upon further investigation, I realized that I had been using image generators for a long time, but didn't know their technical name. About a year or so ago, in another forum I had used a "ticker" to count down my pregnancy. I decided to add one to my blog to count down to the end of my "Old Dogs" class (not that I am anxious for it to be over. I am having lots of fun with it.) You can check out my ticker at the bottom of my blog page.

At Christmas this year some family, friends, and I had a great time with an image generator sponsored by Office Max. In that one, you were able to down load pictures of people, crop their faces, add them to the bodies of dancing elves, and then email them off to someone. It was so much fun as we each tried to out do the other. The best part for me was seeing my husbands parents and grandmother "dance" on my computer screen. We had a lot of good family bonding over it too, as the kids all gathered around to laugh and add their suggestions of who we should "elf" next.

This week I played with some other fun generators. My favorite was http://www.hairmixer.com/

This particular generator allowed you to download a picture of yourself and then interchange your face or hairstyle with your choice of celebrities. It was fun to see myself in Hilary Clinton's and Oprah's hair. I was able to try on some hairstyles without going through the stress of trying to decide at the salon, how I should have my beautician do my hair and wondering if I will even like it when she is done.

So, all in all, it has been a good learning experience with generators this week. The best part is that it was an assignment for work so I had an excuse to not feel guilty over wasting so much time on nonsense.

There REALLY IS no place like home

AO Fox Hospital- sign
Originally uploaded by violet01

On this the sixth week of "Old Dogs" we were challenged to add pictures to our blog that had to do with our blog title. We were to create an account with flickr and to post one photo through that site and to post one directly through our computer. While I already know how to post directly from the computer, the flikr site is new to me. There was a lot of trial and error on my part, but I am familiar enough with similar programs, that I think I will get the hang of it quickly. I really enjoyed their editing tools. In fact, my picture is of a hospital sign that was actually taken this summer. However,for the purpose of this blog, I needed it to be set in the winter. I had contemplated driving to the hospital to take a new picture of the sign but to my surprise the editing tools allowed me to add "snow"! It saved me a trip and I was able to have fun and learn something new at the same time.

So why a hospital sign, you may ask? My blog title is "There's no place like home", and my husband and I have recently found that to be true.

On February 12, I took him to our local ER with severe stomach pains that he had had since the evening before. He was all concerned that perhaps it was "only the flu" and we would be foolishly sent home. I however was willing to appear the fool, especially in light that this could be something more serious. As it turned out it was an acute appendicitis and he was taken into surgery that evening for its removal. (btw: We were in ER at 11:30AM and it wasn't until 8:00PM that he was finally taken to surgery)

I have personally been in the hospital for the birth of our four children, but he had never been and perhaps didn't know what to expect. He is also not a complainer or one to "put someone out" with doing favors. During his two day stay, he was never offered a toothbrush, he was not given a basin or a wash cloth with which to give himself a sponge bath, and when he asked about getting a shower, he was told 'not until tonight.'. (he was discharged that afternoon)

So needless to say, I was not impressed with the care he received. When he got home, I immediately drew him a bath and gave him his toothbrush. After two days he needed them!! Did the nurses not notice that? Eeeww.

So its not that my husband needed a wake up call about appreciating home. He does express his love about "our good life" often. I think through this experience we have all come to a greater appreciation for the blessings of home and for those who live there with us. There is no place like home!

A Commitment to Life Long Learning

I am into my third week of "learning 2.0", my class for work. This week we were instructed to watch a video called the "71/2 Habits of a Highly Successful Lifelong Learner" (here is the link if you are interested.) http://www.plcmc.org/public/learning/player.html At the end of the video we were encouraged to fill out and sign a learning contract. It is a tool used to help ourselves take responsibility for our own learning.

I was personally encouraged while watching the presentation and found myslef jotting down some notes and little sayings that I wanted to remember. Out of my notes two things stuck out the most. First, It is never too soon or too late to start learning. Secondly, "the words you use to describe yourself, soon become reality."

Although, I think the intention of the learning contract was to choose an activity from "learning 2.0", my thoughts throughout the presentation and in filling out my learning contract were mainly centered upon my recent decision to go back to school and complete my degree.

As a wife of a minister, a mother of four, and a person facing their 20th high school reunion in a few short years, this is an intimidating and daunting goal. Never the less, it has been something on my mind for several years. Part of the hesitation has been the question of, 'What do I want to be when I grow up?', part of it is fear of failure and appearing the fool, and much falls in the category of laziness and putting off until tomorrow what could be done today.

So, I am encouraged that "It is never too soon or too late to start learning." Now is the perfect time for me to take responsibility for my education. My learning contract states, I will complete my first degree by 2010.

Lastly, the words I use to describe myself ,soon become reality. Therefore, I am confident, able, and qualifiied to meet the goal I have set.

Beginning the journey to being a blogger

So, here I am with my first official attempt at being a blogger. Its a little scary for those of us who are behind the times, but I think I will quickly get the hang of it. I am actually more interested and excited about learning the artistic side of having a blog and being able to make my site uniquely mine, than I am about posting. The posting was the easy part.