The Title of my New Book Is...

I'm sorry.  I am not telling you today.  I did come up with what I think is going to be the title of my new book.  This book has nothing to do with the first two books I wrote.  This book is a list of things that people should not do in a grocery store.  I have a long list of things that I listed and then I am writing a paragraph explaining why you shouldn't do that in the grocery store.  After I email the person that did the cover for my first two books, 5 people will know the title of my book.  My agent um, I mean my mom, my dad, me (of course), a friend, and my illustrator will know the title.  I have no idea when I will release the title to the public.  I might not tell anyone else until I release the book.  It will be interesting to try something different.  I remember telling everyone the title of book two before it was officially out.  I have no idea when my book will be done.  I'm hoping to get it done by April for absolutely no reason whatsoever.  I am a little under halfway done with it at this point.  Obviously after I'm done writing it, I need to read it several times to edit it and format it.  Until then, I guess the suspense will be killing all of you that don't know the title of my new book.  I can't wait to share it with everyone.  I am very excited about this book!

Too Much Death

I was going to write about something different today.  That was until I found out about yet another death that happened today.  Sometimes, I cannot stand Facebook.  I have found out about so many deaths through Facebook.  Not that I ever want to find out about someone who dies, but I'd rather hear about it through phone, news, or even in person.  This month and last month have been absolutely devastating.  December 1st started off with the tragic death of two high school students in a car accident that also severely injured two others.  One student that is alive went to my high school and the two that died went to another local high school.  On Friday, December 14, we all know about the horrible, sickening deaths of students and teachers in Newtown, Connecticut.  On Wednesday, I found out that a fifth grade boy in my district died after a sudden illness.  I read an article that this boy was always helping his classmates that were in need.  He helped the special education students and kept other students active in gym.  His death was a complete shock to the entire district.  A day or two later, my grandpas cousin died.  The only good thing I can say about that is that she was 86 and lived a great life.  About two hours ago, I saw (on Facebook) that a 22 year old, that was best friends with my best friend from college, died in a car accident on his way back to college in Florida.  I knew this guy pretty well since he was best friends with my best friend.  The only good thing I can say about this death is that it was only him that died and no one else was involved in the accident.  Obviously there is nothing good that comes from death.  I cannot remember a time that I saw this kid without a smile on his face.  I never saw him angry.  He loved everyone and was always positive.  He went to Potsdam and I met him through my best friend.  We hit it off right away.  He was an avid sports fan like myself.  He had a tough time academically at Potsdam.  He went back to his home near Syracuse to think about what he wanted.  He then went to college in Florida with a major in mind and a goal.  He seemed to be doing very well.  Everything was going his way until this morning where his life came to an abrupt end.  Although I didn't know him as well as my best friend, I am as heartbroken as his closest relatives.  I can't believe how fast someone can lose their life.  Be careful out there and live each moment as if it were your last.  Unfortunately, you never know when it could be your last day on Earth. :( RIP to everyone that has died recently.  You are all in our thoughts.

Snow Tubing!

I went snow tubing today for the first time since I was very young.  Snow tubing is when you go down a hill on a tube, similar to a tube you would find at a lazy river.  We went to a mountain where they also had skiing.  The lines were insanely long to begin with!  They have four tubing chutes that are 700 feet long with a 65 foot drop and two chutes that are 1000 feet long with a 100 foot vertical drop.  When we grabbed our tubes, as I said, the line was very long and not moving.  The larger chute area was closed because the lift wasn't working.  When we finally got to the lift area, you sit in your tube and a guy hooks it to a moving rope and it pulls you up to the top.  I went down ridiculously fast!  I was going backwards most of the time.  They ask you to drag your feet at the end so that you don't fly off the path.  As I got in line again, the larger chute was opening.  A lot of people went there.  I stayed in line for the smaller chute because the line was shorter.  Then I went on the larger one.  Once you get up the mountain for the 1000 foot chute, you had to walk a little ways to get to the slide area.  I looked down and was a little nervous.  After I went on it once, I was fine.  They kept asking if I wanted to spin while going down and I said sure.  I went so fast that I started to wrap around where the people from the shorter chute came off and almost knocked people down.  I ended up going on the 1000 foot chute 6 times and the 700 foot chute 4 times in two hours.  It wasn't too cold at all.  After I went three times, the lines died down significantly and that allowed me to go more often.  It was definitely a great way to spend my Saturday.

Jokes

Everyone loves a good laugh, right?  I love watching comedians.  Recently, I have been downloading books with jokes for my kindle.  I've also read a few books by comedians that are intended to be funny.  Yesterday and today, I read 101 Best Jokes, Jokes For Kids: 300+ Jokes, and The Little Booze Joke Book.  I still have to read 100 Jolly Jokes for all Occasions.  Let me tell you something.  I don't think I laughed or cracked a smile once while reading those books.  I continued to read them all because they were short and I hoped I would eventually laugh.  I read a book by Steve Martin a few months ago and it wasn't funny.  I pre ordered a book by one of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan.  I will get that book in May.  I have noticed that books by comedians and books with jokes are not funny at all.  Comedy to me is only funny when I watch the person on TV or in person.  It's all about the way you tell the joke.  That's probably why reading it isn't as funny as hearing it.  Obviously I don't find all comedians funny.  I am worried that the Jim Gaffigan book won't be funny.  Oh well, I was just trying to get a laugh for free.  I wasted time reading those books.  At least I was reading and being productive, which is one of my resolutions! 

Extreme Couponing

I want to start off by saying that I officially hit 3,000 views yesterday!  Thank you to everyone that takes valuable time out of your day to read this very important blog.  Now, on to today's topic.  Yesterday, I turned on the TV to tape something (I know, I shouldn't have because of my New Years Resolution to be more productive and watch less TV).  It was on a station that was showing "Extreme Couponing".  I have heard of the show but have never watched it.  It's a show that shows how ordinary people clip coupons, shop, and pay almost nothing for their entire grocery bill.  I've often called my mom an extreme couponer.  I now take that back.  She is not even remotely like an extreme couponer.  I have no problem with people using coupons.  You really can save a ton of money.  When I find good coupons for my store for something I need or often eat (which as we all know, is a lot of food), I will use them.  However, these extreme couponers are absolutely nuts!  These people buy over $1,000 worth of groceries and spend maybe a penny.  One person even got money back!  This one lady bought 59 bottles of BBQ sauce and 78 boxes of cat food, in addition to everything else she bought!  She only donated 3 boxes of cat food to an animal shelter.  Her basement seriously looked like a grocery store.  These people get coupons from multiple newspapers, friends, and the Internet.  They obviously get many coupons for the same item.  They go to a store that automatically doubles coupons and they wait for the item to go on sale so that they can get it for free.  These people have saved many thousands of dollars a year by doing this.  However...they literally have to spend hours upon hours a day searching for coupons and cutting them out.  They have to figure out what they "need" and how much to get.  They need to do the math and figure out how little they are going to spend.  They then have to go to the store and spend hours shopping.  One lady spent an hour a half at the register alone!  Then they get all nervous that they added something wrong and will pay too much.  Then they have to go home and put it all away.  It's literally a full time job!  I sat there watching yesterday with my jaw hitting the floor.  I cannot believe how much time and effort is spent doing something like this.  I truly think that if an "Extreme couponer" came through my line, I'd probably walk out of the store and quit.  I would not have the patience to deal with him or her.  I feel like I should add that to my book, but probably won't.  People never cease to amaze me!

I Lied...

I am very sorry to tell everyone that I lied to all of you.  I said I wasn't going to write any New Years' resolutions.  Today, I wrote down 10 of them.  I had a fifth grade class come in and their teacher wanted them to write 10 resolutions for the year and explain how they are going to achieve them.  Naturally, they all moaned and groaned.  This teacher often does really cool projects like this.  Most of the time, I sit at my computer and do the same activity that she has her class doing.  Today was no different.  I had a hard time coming up with 10 different resolutions.  I told the class that I started all of mine with "I will ... by..."  I hoped that would help them because she wanted them to say something like "I will be a better student by studying each subject five minutes each night."  A lot of students struggled with explaining how they would meet their resolution.  Now that I have it on paper and you will see them below, I have no excuses.  As I said on the 31st, I know one person that will call me out every time I don't make good on a resolution since this dude or dudette has a photographic memory.  Below are the 10 that I wrote today.

New Years’ Resolutions:

-I will publish book #3 by continuing to work on it more often than I did last year.

-I will get a teaching job by applying, applying, applying, and more applying.

-I will eat smaller portions at dinner and fewer desserts at night by exercising serious will power and having less junk in the house.

-I will be more productive at night after work by reading and writing more instead of sitting at the computer and/or watching TV.

-I will go to the gym more than two times a week.  No more excuses!

-I will be more positive about my future and stop saying, “I’ll have a teaching job 10 years from now” sarcastically.

-I will go on all three vacations I have in mind and not worry about how much they will cost.  I will worry about how much fun they will be!

-I will put X dollars into my retirement fund by budgeting the money I make. ( I know what the X amount is.  I just don't want to reveal that amount in public).

-I will find a publisher to take my book(s) by continuing to send out query letters.

-I will pay it forward to less fortunate people instead of buying myself something I do not need.

 Now I need to stay motivated so I can accomplish all 10 of them this year! Wish me luck!
 

Past and Present

The differences we have between the past and the present are astonishing.  Today, we have cell phones, GPS's, iPads, iPods, laptops, video games, HD TV, DVR, Internet access almost anywhere, and all sorts of other technology I am sure I am forgetting.  If you look at your parents, they had none of that.  They had black and white TV's with very few channels and no video game systems.  They had no cell phones, computers, email, Facebook, and quick messaging.  Kids seriously don't know how good they have it.  Many kids at my elementary school have cell phones!  They are way too young to have phones in my opinion.  I often wonder how my parents and grandparents survived without the technology we have today.  I know so many people that tell me they cannot live without their cell phones, iPad, etc.  I absolutely cannot stand how reliant we all are on our technology.  Is it cool and fun to play with?  Absolutely!  Can we survive without it?  Of course we can!  Our parents did and I'm sure we can too.  I am not a big fan of cell phones and didn't want an iPhone.  I only got one because at that point, every phone required a data plan and the iPhone was only slightly more expensive than the other phones and I would get so much more with it than any other phone.  I can't stand texting.  I like my phone for easy Internet access when I need to look up something when I am not on a computer, to look up sports stuff, and of course games.  I know that as a kid, cell phones were just coming out and the Internet was just getting popular.  I survived no problem.  I really wonder what it would be like today if we didn't have all of these exciting toys.  It would be interesting to see if the kids do better in school.  I truly believe they would because there would be far less distractions at home.  Unfortunately, we will never know because technology is getting better and better every single day.  It sure will be interesting to see what it looks like in 10-20 years.