C is for...

Shash got me. She gave me an assignment: come up with TEN things that started with the letter C, words that were important to me, or somehow defined me. So, here it is:

1. Cookie. That's good enough for me. (I'm done now, right?)

2. Cat We have two of them, and they add a lot to our lives. I like dogs, but I love cats. Kailey (died two years ago March at age 13) and Beleu (getting up in years now and has a bit of arthritis I fear) were my first babies. The kids were born into a family where the cats were already a part of life. Beleu is around 14 now. And we added a new feline to the mix: Siobahn, also known as Bon Bon. She is HUGE, big fat, black cat, who, when she sits around the house, really, really sits around the house! She is very cat in that she knows when you are going to get up and will sneak into your lap just then. If you try to dislodge her, the claws come out, just enough for you to feel them. I would say she is evil, but she would be a lovable evil.

3. Careful. When I was younger, I was a person of extremes. I still am to a point. I was either telling it the way I thought it was, or, fearing I would go too far, I would refrain from saying anything. A bit older, perhaps a tad wiser, and I am careful to think before I speak. (often, but not always). I guess I grew weary of pulling my foot out of my mouth. It was never my intention to offend, I just wasn't always judicious about offering my opinion. Now I realize that others can be bothered and since I am a passionate person, if it is important to me I can appear to come on too strong. (but I will still tell you what I think of Bush and the current administration. Apparently I didn't learn as much as I would have liked to think!)

4. Creativity. I love this word, and everything about it! Creative is, as creative does. I think if you stop to analyze the creative process, it ceases to be creative and spontaneous. Creativity comes in so many forms! I love to write, sing, I make up crazy songs for my children. You have seen JBear's creativity. JBug loves to write, and JBean is always singing. (where is her off button??) I believe to nurture creativity you have to let go of what you think it will look like, and give plenty of space to the process. This works for both myself and my children.

5. Classical Education. This is how I homeschool. When our educational system abandoned the classical model, I feel they did a grave injustice to children. In classical education the child is taught, systematically to learn. There are three stages in classical ed. and in a nutshell, they are: Grammar (K-4) this is the time when kids are "sponges." They do memorization and learn facts. They don't question what they are learning. Yet. DIalectic, also known as Logic. (5-9th grade approx). Kids learn to begin to ask the hard questions, and to have the hard questions asked of them. They no longer see things as black and white, but can see shades of gray. They are learning to question suppositions. In the Rhetoric stage, from 10-12 grade, a young person has learned the tools necessary to craft a cogent argument. They can defend their positions and challenge yours, as well. Teaching is done through Socratic Method. I know this is confusing, and I realize I need to devote an entire post just to C.E.

6. Christian. This word defines me, and what I think I am. But as I have said before, it is not about a "religion" for me. Christian is what I am, because I am a follower of Christ. I am not much for labels. What that looks like for me isn't contigent upon what it looks like for others.(beyond following the Bible and Christ) God knows my heart. He knows that I aim to be like Him. To that end, I do attend church, and we are active as well. I tend to be on the more liberal side of "Christian politics." I believe that Jesus would love all, including illegal aliens, and those who needed him most. He did judge (but I am not perfect, so I don't) but he didn't pull away from those others considered undesirable. If I truly want to be like Him, that means going against the culture, even those claiming to represent Him...if I feel they are remiss.

7. Cleaning. I have to admit, I am not a good housekeeper. Go back up and read #4 and you will understand. Also, with homeschooling, I just haven't stayed on top of things the way I wish I had. Cleaning is just so..boring. This will change next year, however. With all three kids home, we will have regular chore routines and my house will be very clean. Really. Why are you laughing?

8. Cow Planet. And now, a little levity. Sandra Boynton is a favorite preschool author of mine. And she wrote music, as well. I thought that the lyric, "Cows, we're remarkable cows. And whereever we go, it's a fabulous show, we're remarkable cows" was stellar. Then, her new CD was released, and Cow Planet was among the songs. Not just one song, but 3 songs on the CD about Cow Planet. "Another Time, another place. Somewhere far...out in space. Listen: "Cowwwwwww Planet. Ah-ooom." Who they are, we don't know. Now they call. We must go. Cow Planet." Ab-so-lutely ROCKS. Life is too short to take too seriously. Have fun!

9. Computer I had my first computer in high school. But that wasn't the first experience I had with computers. I used to play games from the district office in the 8th grade during recess. I used a hard-carrier modem: the phone receiver came off the cradle and fit into the modem cradle. Think: War Games. I had boyfriends with computers. And I have been doing web and blogging since 1995 or so. I did my stint on the pregnancy/month boards at AOL, cloth diapers, attachment parenting, email loops... a long and varied history. My surfing habits may change, but one thing is certain, some sort of computer for me is a permanent fixture in my life. Currently, I use a Mac, which I love. I don't anticipate going back to PC.

10. Chocolate! You didn't think I would forget that one, did you?? I love chocolate, but I much prefer dark to milk. I will eat milk chocolate in a pinch, but dark is my heart. See's truffles, Dove bars, Hershey's Special Dark and many organic bars are wonderful. I don't actually eat that much chocolate at one sitting. One or two squares is enough. I also love Starbucks mochas and fraps because, well, they are chocolatey! Yesterday, I had a Ben & Jerry's shake that was amazing: Chocolate Nirvana: chocolate ice cream, brownie bits and Chocolate Therapy ice cream. (How can you go wrong, it has THERAPY in its name!)

So, that's me. And this was a lot harder than it looked! If you want to play, add a comment and I will assign you a letter. This was actually fun! Try it!

T, who was challenged with this one. (hey another C word!)

Search Me: fun and games, memes,

Technorati: fun, memes,