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Location: Home > HomeMaking Monthly A FREE Monthly Newsletter
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Pearls of Wisdom |
feedback Scam Warning craft Natural Health A Parting Word |
Hi HomeMakers,
HomeMaking Monthly is having a break for a while...
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Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.
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The following would be funny if it didn’t have such a loud ring of truth to it.
SCENARIO: Johnny And Mark Get Into A Fistfight After School.
1960 - Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up mates.
2007 - Police are called, SWAT team arrives and arrest Johnny and Mark. Mobiles
with video of fight are confiscated as evidence. They are charged with assault,
AVOs are taken out and both are suspended even though Johnny started it.
Diversionary conferences and parent meetings conducted. Video shown on 6
internet sites.
SCENARIO: Jeffrey won't sit still in class, disrupts other students.
1960 - Jeffrey is sent to the principal's office and given a good paddling.
Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey is given huge doses of Ritalin. Counselled to death. Becomes a
zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra funding because Jeffrey has a
disability. Drops out of school.
SCENARIO: Billy breaks a window in his neighbour’s car and his Dad gives him
a whipping with his belt.
1960 - Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and
becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy is removed to foster care
and joins a gang. Psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being
abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mum has an affair with the
psychologist. Psychologist gets a promotion.
SCENARIO: Mark, a college student, brings cigarettes to school.
1960 - Mark shares a smoke with the school principal out on the smoking area.
2007 - Police are called and Mark is expelled from School for drug possession.
His car is searched for drugs and weapons.
SCENARIO: Vinh fails high school English.
1960 - Vinh goes to Remedial English, passes and goes to college.
2007 - Vinh's cause is taken up by local human rights group. Newspaper articles
appear nationally explaining that making English a requirement for graduation is
racist. Civil Liberties Association files class action lawsuit against state
school system and his English teacher. English is banned from core curriculum.
Vinh is given his Y10 anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he
cannot speak English.
SCENARIO: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers, puts them in a model
plane paint bottle and blows up an anthill.
1960 - Ants die.
2007 - Security and ASIO are called and Johnny is charged with domestic
terrorism. Teams investigate parents, siblings are removed from the home,
computers are confiscated, and Johnny's dad goes on a terror watch list and is
never allowed to fly again.
SCENARIO: Johnny falls during recess and scrapes his knee. His teacher, Mary,
finds him crying, and gives him a hug to comfort him.
1960 - Johnny soon feels better and goes back to playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces
three years in prison. Johnny undergoes five years of therapy. Becomes gay.
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In its infinite stupidity the Government of New Zealand has decided to undermine and beat parents some more, by testing their children to see if they are displaying signs of “antisocial behaviour” that could identify whether they are likely to become criminals. If so they will be forcibly enrolled in a new educational programme.
What I think really stinks about this is:
A) Currently the government does little to turn around those children who they already know have antisocial behaviours and are budding criminals. You know the children that steal from other kids at school, beat others up are rude to the teachers etc.
B) Instead of offering parents a carrot and helping people with children who do have anti social behavioural problems in a positive, friendly, non-hostile way, they have taken the bureaucratic authoritarian way, which should make all good parents quake with fear least their little darling be having an off day and behave badly on the appointed testing day.
How long before the government takes children who perform badly in this test, off their parents for “the greater good” as happened in 1960’s Australia to aboriginal families and in some overseas countries that have taken their anti smacking laws to the extreme and banned yelling at children.
Once you start removing children from their parents you open a whole can of ugly worms, bribery and corruption, back-handers to testers, from people who run “homes for wayward children” -for profit.
Who is more likely to love a child, paid care givers who do it for money or the biological parents who sacrifice much for the children they love?
Our governments needs to wake up to the realities of being a parent and realise that even the most privileged of children will resent the way their parents have raised them, behave badly at times and struggle with some issues in life, that is called being HUMAN.
It is time our leaders went out and gave birth to some children themselves, then, perhaps they would approach the subject of poking their noses into everybody’s family business with a bit more care and understanding, constructive assistance instead of destructive draconian fear enhancing measures.
The bureaucrats have forgotten that almost all parents do love their children, but many struggle knowing the best way to help them. And punishing somebody because they are not sure on the best way to do something is highly destructive.
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Baby birds are smarter than you think.
I always keep an eye out for baby birds that have been blown from their nests and many times I have reared these birds. The other day my husband found a young thrush which looked like it had fallen victim to the wind. I looked around to see if it’s parents were near as I know that at a certain age the baby will leave its nest and hop about being feed by its parents until it has learnt to feed itself properly.
Anyway this baby sat very still it my hand doings it’s very best to imitate a rock. It’s intelligent eyes staring upwards taking careful note of it’s surroundings. I went inside with it and stood looking out to see if there was any sign of it’s parents. At the end of the garden there was a thrush who looked like she might have been an overly busy mother.
I took the baby bird out and placed it in the middle of my lawn in plane view of the suspected parent expecting the mother to rush to its baby. The baby bird metamorphosed from being a rock to bolting across the lawn straight back to the exact spot I took it from. For all the world as if that was what he had been instructed to do by his parents before they left in search of food.
I checked later and indeed his parents had returned for him..
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Take the time .... do it now!
Too many people put off something that brings them joy: just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming, or are too rigid to depart from their usual routine stuff.
How often has somebody dropped in to visit and sat in silence while you watched television?
Or has somebody called to invite you out and you have replied "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain…"
When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow", and in your haste, not see their sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? .... Just call to say "Hi".
Because we cram so much into our lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Johnny toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."
'Seize the moment' be open to adventure and available for trips. Keep an open mind for new ideas. Be enthusiastic.
Now... go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to... not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting? Call 'em now!
When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift ....Thrown away.
Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.
Have a great month of being good to your self..
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My eMail address is diana@allwaze.com and I’d love to hear from you. You can also use the HomeMaking forum anytime. . Check out the interesting posts and it's totally FREE. And we have succeeded in blocking out the spammer at last so spread the news…
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Nothing new this month...
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While working out how to decorate my daughters’ wedding cake I came over the following – Fun!
CHOCOLATE PLASTIC: Chocolate plastic is essentially a modelling chocolate, made from a mixture of melted chocolate and corn syrup, kneaded into a pliable, play dough like consistency.
Chocolate plastic is an essential decorating tool and can be made into a variety of shapes, flowers or rolled into thin sheets. It's similar to marzipan in the way it's used, however it hardens faster. From the sheets you can make lovely and dramatic decorations, from ribbons and ruffles, to roses, flowers and borders. You can even use it to weave with.
Chocolate Plastic can be made from white chocolate, milk chocolate, or dark chocolate, with white chocolate tinted in a variety of colours. Dark works the best for decorations, while milk and white are better used when something soft and pliable is needed, such as covering a cake.
How to Make Chocolate Plastic:
INGREDIENTS
450 g semisweet chocolate, chopped
180 ml light corn syrup
DIRECTIONS
Melt chocolate in a large metal bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in the corn syrup. The mixture will become sticky, but keep stirring until very well blended.
Spoon onto a piece of plastic wrap, and wrap tightly. Let stand at room temperature until firm before using. Overnight is best. Or place briefly in refrigerator to set. Then, knead, getting it ready to be able to be rolled, to make decorations with, etc. Use unsweetened cocoa powder on work surfaces to prevent sticking.
If at any time the Chocolate Plastic becomes hard, you can soften it by kneading it again or by placing it in a microwave for 5 - 8 SECONDS on 50% power. Even placing it in a pan for about 30 to 35 minutes in a 220 degree F oven, will do the trick. Always knead after reheating.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Plastic-Chocolate/Detail.aspx
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Last month I talked about pumpkins but I didn’t look at how eating pumpkins effects your health.
Naturally there are a number of different types of pumpkins but generally they are meant to be good for those trying to watch their weight as they are low in calories high in fibre and can be used in cooking to reduce the amount of fat in some recipes and still taste good.
Pumpkins and squash contain high levels of antioxidants and carotenes, notably vitamin C and E and therefore may lower cancer risk, heart disease, cataracts and strokes.
An average-sized helping of pumpkins or squash every second day can provide many benefits.
Pumpkin seeds are meant to:
Promote overall prostate health and alleviate the difficult urination
associated with an enlarged prostate.
Improve Bladder Function.
Prevent of Osteoporosis through their high zinc levels.
Reduce inflammation.
Prevent kidney stones by stopping calcium oxalate kidney stone formation.
Prevent cancer The same phytosterols that lower cholesterol also protect against
many cancers.
Kill Parasites - pumpkin seeds are used in many cultures as a natural treatment
for tapeworms and other parasites. Studies also show them to be effective
against acute schistosomiasis, a parasite contracted from snails.
Pumpkin seeds:
Are a Great Source of Magnesium - 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds contains 92% of your
daily value of magnesium, a mineral in which most Americans are deficient.
Lower Cholesterol - Pumpkin seeds contain phytosterols, compounds that that have
been shown to reduce levels of LDL cholesterol.
Treat Depression - They contain L-tryptophan, a compound naturally effective
against depression.
More at:
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-pumpkin-seeds.html
http://www.health24.com/dietnfood/Healthy_foods/15-18-20-155.asp
http://www.dietobio.com/aliments/en/pumpkin.html
http://home.howstuffworks.com/pumpkins3.htm
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I was playing volley ball in the pool with my daughter the other day when she accidentally hit me with the ball. We both wondered if it had been me that had accidentally hit her with the ball could I have been in trouble with the law for “hitting” my child. We thought that the government would have to make “use of weapons (balls)” count in their anti smacking legislation. What does this mean for parents who wish to play with their children?
Until next month, take care, count your blessings and enjoy life,
Kindest regards,
Diana.
P.S. Moving? Changed email accounts? Please drop me a note with your updated address. Every month I get hundreds of “address not found” replies.
To contact me please email me at diana@allwaze.com
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Copyright 2008 (c) Diana Henderson
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