Pre-Valentine’s Day Giveaway!!!

Pre-Valentine’s Day Giveaway!!!

Food N Service has been a great resource!

There have been so many great sales & couponing advice, recipes and tid bits of the restaurant training that I've completely enjoyed reading. It's one that I definitely recommend.

The blogposts are very easy to read, and are done in a great color verbiage.

I LOVE THEM!!! www.foodnservice.com

Go there today!

ShopRite Extreme Savings

ShopRite Extreme Savings

Obama Heckled? Ha! Heckle at this.

The 26th amendment(granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3
months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That
was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to
become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

Copy and forward this to a minimum of twenty people in
your address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below..
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when
they are out of office.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security
system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,
and Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will
rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same
health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is
an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators,
so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

One other thing - barbers have to be licensed, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, financial consultants, on and on have to be licensed to prove they are competent - why cant federal politicians, the people who hold the fate of the country, prove they know economics, history, foreign affairs and are generally intelligent rather than show they lie, cheat and steal (something we already know) - along with meeting requirements in the constitution, they should be tested and licensed before each election - it dosent mater if you are left, middle or right wing, show you know before you go.

BPC Choir Alumni Reunion Thoughts

My heart is forever blessed.

It was my first time back to campus in over 11 years.

I didn't know how I would feel when I walked onto the campus grounds, after parking in front of the

original music building. The original birth place of our hearts, and a place where many of us grew a

stonger faith...with thanks to Miss Stanley and each other. Our God IS a mighty fortress, but He made us the cement in His fortress of BPC.

I gazed around and all the memories came rushing back to me:

The attack of the killer swans,

the having to add ketchup to what BPC called pizza,

the runs to Friendly Gus for their tater logs and an obscured diet coke,

the long hours of piano practice,

to Dr. Retif saying, "Blow, dammit, blow!" (and then you would walk out crying from his office),

to making looooove to the bell,

to Miss Stanley giving you the stare of death for being slightly off key (and you/us having a shocked face when she pointed you out) or if you weren't singing at all,

to the heart felt bible study sessions & TV viewing at the BSU center,

to trying to wash the crisco oil off your body (guys you get it!) after serenading the girls,

to the Road Rally races where someone was certain to get lost from making an R at the T by the Y (lol!),

to listening to those lip trills being done with numb lips and handbell cases in hand,

to going to the mailboxes praying for more than just another flyer in there,

to the late night study sessions (or cards games) in the student center,

to the dead bug in Wally World (Wal-Mart for the layman),

to getting up a 4am to wait in line to register (wearing hoodies and pajamas) to not get stuck with an 8am class,

to the awful looking men of the reverse beauty pageants,

to the fraternity and sorority water wars (Go Rho!),

to the long heart to heart talks about the directions God is taking you/us in,

to going to the library and acting like we know how to properly cite periodicals,

to the 56k dial up modem, and to all of us thinking we were the coolest in having it available,

to backing up into signs while driving the school van and having a bad case of IBS at the same time (Sorry my Ringers!),

to the Random Acts of Kindness that no one ever expected,

to not ever feeling like an outcast or alone in this world,

to me singing El Shaddai and crying, and everyone joining in to sing to help me finish the song,

to share the fears of love and salvation with each other,

to fighting with the soccer teams lol (I never knew how that really started),

to getting into philosophical debates at 3am,

to displays of affection show to fellow classmates at 2am at the Huddle House, "C'mon Betsy give, my baby's gotta live!",

to learning what perfect parallel fifths and disnonant notes are,

to going to the small white chapel across the lake and having a revival,

to the golf carts driving by my windows at night that drove me crazy,

to the paddle boats and fishing at the lake,

to the pain staking juries!!!!!!!,

to the late Brother Herbies home made cooking,

to Brian Marchant gargling at 6am and doing vocal training in the bathroom while I tried to sleep,

to Molly, Kaysi, Paige, David, and many others pulling out the guitar for all us to jam to,

to doing work study in the post office or the book store....I could go on and on forever.

These memories never leave me,

We all have our memories that helped create our bonds together.

We all have our memories that we carry in knowing what made us all...a family.

We have all been there for ever other in darkest days, and brightest shining moments.

In getting together, everyone was genuinely and truly happy to see each other, to share love with each other,

to let them know they are missed and thought of, and to Facebook that helps keep us together...even though we are physically apart.

Our hearts and souls are forever entwined with each other.

So, here's to my old friends...well family members, and here's to the new found ones made.

I love you all. I am blessed and enriched by you all. You are in my hearts forever. Words cannot be conveyed enough.

Just remember to, "Look to the pine trees. Easter is coming."

Until we meet again my loving family in God.

David M Murphy 94 to 98

iPad for Special Education

This article is mainly aimed at children/adults who are mentally challenged.

As a brother of a mentally challenged sister, I completely understand the different obstacles that come with daily life. It takes a lot of patience to deal with people of her nature. The biggest things are: constant reiteration of the do's and don'ts in life.

My sister hasn't been in school for a long time, and has different issues that upset her...i.e., writing her name, her ABC's, and counting past 10. Most of us take these simple things for granted, but i don't. I relish in the fact that I know how to put my shoes on the right feet, tie my shoes, write my name, and able to do simple hand-eye coordination tasks.

I am a gadget freak! When it comes to technology, I have to have it all! When the iPad was released, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one! Just a little over a month ago, I indulged and bought one. I was on cloud 9! Browsing through all of the killer apps that was available on the iPad had in the app store...I didn't know what to do with myself.

One day I was watching Netflix on my iPad, and that's where my interest was sparked about the educational possibilities of teaching people with mental challenges began. My sister asked if she could watch Dora the Explorer on it. Now mind you, she is a Dora the Explorer aficionado! She can (and will) watch Dora all day and night long if she could. After observing her watch her favorite show, I decided to teach her how to press "pause" and "play." She felt like a "big girl" watching her favorite show on my iPad. Angela, my sister, had learned quite a few things off of Dora. For example, my other sister (Jennifer) and I like to speak in Spanish around our family...mainly because no one understands Spanish in our family! Well, one day Angela was having a rough day with emotional outburst, and then Jennifer said "Let's giver her some medicine to calm her down" in Spanish. Angela, looked at us and said, "I don't need medicine to calm down!" Jennifer and I looked at each other with the biggest stunned looks on our faces. Angela had learned to speak and understand more than just the basic words in Spanish. (BTW, thank you Dora! We now have to learn to used a different language! lol).

Angela's retort in the translation of our Spanish had my brain moving a thousand miles an hour. Using Netflix was just a beginning point, in my mind, of where Angela could learn better eye-hand coordination and other basic skill sets. After scrounging around the App store, I found some amazing apps that would be extremely beneficial for almost all people with mental retardation!

1. Netflix: Netflix uses simple controls of pressing pause and play. When the person has learned these 2 basic steps, take him/her to the next level of making the screen bigger and smaller, and then finally to the level of picking their own show(s) and pressing the PLAY icon. This App is FREE!

2. Intro to Letters, by Montessorium: What a great little app this is! You have the whole alphabet in front of you! You can press the different letters to trace with your fingers or with an iPad stylus (I HIGHLY recommend the stylus. It allows the person to feel like they are using a pen/pencil). You all get to press a button to hear the letter pronounced! Another great advantage. The purchase prices is $4.99, but definitely well worth it! Here are the rest of the details from the App store site:

Intro to Letters includes a special recording area for iPad and iPhone users, where your child can listen to their own voice, as they practice to enunciate and name the letters of the alphabet.

Intro to Letters also offers two modes for learning letter shapes, names and sounds. "Random" mode harnesses the proven Montessori approach to learning language — isolating small groups of letters or phonograms, allowing your child to focus on them and trace them into memory. Want to target a specific letter? Flip over to "Practice" mode, where your child can choose which letters to focus on.

3. Penultimate: This was a free app, but I believe it is not $1.99. It's another MUST have, especially with the usage of the stylus! They can practice writing their ABC's, names, and just about anything! The app has 3 to 4 different paper style appearances. The parent or teacher can actually create the guidelines for them to trace, and then have them do it on their own.

4. Dora the Explorer Chrimstas Adventure: Nickelodeon is doing a phenomenal job at designing interactive story books! From using fine motor skills, to visual and verbal interactions. Nick gets 5 stars from me! I'm actually in the process of showing my sister on how to use it, and then leave her off on her own. The iPad book app was $4.99, and I haven't regretted buying it yet! This app actually brings the characters to life, and allows the participants to get lost in it! Word of caution: The pupils will learn Spanish, so be cautious of what you say! LOL!

5. Fruit Ninja: Believe it or not, I highly recommend this app! It helps with a lot of hand coordination! It has lots of bright colors and movement! Mentally challenged people need to see lots of different colors to spark their synaptic nerves and excite their eyes. The price is $2.99, and you'll definitely love it!

6. My Coloring Book Free: Yes! It's FREE! It comes with 37 different pictures to color in! It works on the premise of the the "paint bucket" tool found in a lot of design programs. They pick the color and the spot they want to fill in with the color. Another great hand-eye coordination app. The best part is that they can actually save the pictures, you can print it if you want, and you can re-use the same picture over and over and over again.

7. Baby Flash Cards: It's FREE, too! It shows an extremely adolescent picture with the associated word. It will even pronounce the word for you with the coinciding picture! It contains a bank of over 200 words and pictures! Not too bad for something free!

8. Read Me Stories: It's also free, but it has a lot of different in app purchases for stories! Which does make it great. You can choose which story books you want to buy. The books are done in a matter of where a 5 to 7 year old should be able to read, but the best part about it is that it actually "reads' the story for the person using the app, while following along. You get a new free book daily, and the person gets to learn a lot. It features no words in each story, and to properly say the word while reading the word. Plus, if you really like the book...there is an in-app button to buy from Amazon.com.

Well, these are my top picks for now! The biggest part in the beginning process is to have a lot of patience in showing these amazing people on how to use the apps, including the basics of launching and closing an app. Don't lose faith! Don't lose patience! It will be a difficult task on your part, but with true diligence you will see a great difference in their learning capacity. You will have to do a lot of moderation at first, but you will see how you can start letting them go on their own one step at a time. Of course, you might see yourself indulging in these apps!
I hope you enjoyed this blog. If you have any other apps that you would like to recommend, please post a comment and share! Many kind thanks in reading and sharing!

Over 10,000 Dead in Japan

There are over 15,000 people still missing.

To learn more, Click here to read