One day, one of those bochelaars to the bathhouse. Because he thought that maybe wash his hump would be smaller, but he continued to wash into the evening. While everyone has long since gone home, he continued to wash. Even the lifeguard was poor bochelaar completely forgotten, the bathhouse was closed and had left. Now there was nobody except the bochelaar. This had no idea that it was already evening had become. When he finally finished washing, he came out of the bath, dressed, and only when he wanted to go out the door, he noticed to his horror that it locked. The poor man cried, and cried with all his might, but finally he realized that there was no one left. He sat in the corner on a wall bench to spend the night.

Time passed and bochelaar was tired. He lay down and fell asleep. At midnight came a horrible noise separately. The bochelaar woke up. He looked around. And what he saw there! The bath was filled with men. But no, those were not people like everybody knows, they were fairies. They dressed all out and began to wash. After washing, they made a big circle. And they danced and jumped around.

As they danced they sang about stomping to the beat again and again: “It’s Wednesday, woehoensdag.” The bochelaar found their dancing around so much that he joined in and “it’s Wednesday, woehoensdag” was singing along. Now he knew that in reality that day is not Wednesday, but Thursday was. But he adapts and always said: “It’s Wednesday, woehoensdag.”

They danced until the morning jumping around. When the sky began to light the fairies dressed again and got ready to leave. But just when they were going out, they turned to the bochelaar and said: “You have changed us. You have the whole time,” Wednesday, “said. We would therefore like to do something for your back . “

Then they one by one on the first hump on his back and then on the wall, and had then disappeared. On his back was nothing left of the hump, he was right back to life and limb.

Morning, the master bath and the bath was open. The man went on without the lifeguard to show the door and walked home. But those who saw him on the way were amazed to watch. When his friend, the other bochelaar, saw him, who immediately asked, “What have you done? How come you hump away? ‘ And the man told him what had happened. Bochelaar second thought: I also once on Thursday to the bathhouse.

When the weather Thursday was the second bochelaar went early morning to the bathhouse. He washed and washed until the evening. The lifeguard also forgot him, closed the bathhouse, and went away. The man sat on the bench, and finally he went down and fell asleep. Again it was midnight. When alarmed these bochelaar awoken by a loud noise, he opened one eye and saw that the whole bath was filled with fairies. The man was happy and thought: “There they are, then, okay, that’s right.”

At this time, the fairies are all to wash. That the man was very strange: “Laundry is something for people, not for fairies!” and he began to laugh at them. The fairies were very angry with him, but they said nothing.

After washing again, they formed a large circle and began to dance and “It’s Wednesday, woehoensdag” to sing. That knocked accordance bochelaar nothing against them, and he began to “it’s Thursday, Thursday” to sing. And if the fairy turned to the right, then he turned to the left, and if the fairies were dancing to the left, then he danced right instant.

Then the morning. The fairies dressed and when she wanted to leave they said, “Hey, son, whatever we say and what we did, you said and did exactly the opposite. We will be your reward.” All they gave him, one by one, a slap on the back and they disappeared. But the second bochelaar felt the weight on his back was doubled: there was a hump added.

Once the lifeguard morning opened the bathhouse, the man slipped out. He went his friend finder. Who was surprised when he saw him and asked, “What have you done on earth, you hump doubled?”

Well, then told the second bochelaar all he had done. But the first bochelaar, which no longer bochelaar, said: “But, friend, I did exactly the same as fairies, as you did the opposite.”

Poor bochelaar had now regretted what he had done. But yes, it was too late. All his life he continued with two humps on its back heavy walking.

* * * * * * END

On one day appeared in Florence Master Simon. He settled in Lane de Melo to comply with the medicine to devote a profession that was already in high esteem. The neighbors soon noticed to their surprise, that although the doctor did a good life, but actually a big fool, and that for such a learned doctor was not really involved.

Moreover, the doctor a complete dork, saw to everything and everyone and was very curious about the news and scandals, that his neighbors knew him to report. He believed everything he heard of was, provided a series of unsolicited advice, played on the boss and everyone thought himself great learned and wise.

Not only that Master Simon stuck his nose in everywhere, he was very jealous. And because the envy sharp eyes, he soon an extraordinary interest in the way of two painters, called Bruno and Buffalmacco, who lived near him.

The two painters, mostly hungry and poor in cash, were good friends. By their cheerfulness and high spirits, they were around much loved, and because they are always a good joke were found and no spoilers, they were the neighbors often a good meal treated well, they received several commissions for portraits.

It was so kind to both the wind and if the master is not with such eager eyes the world was gone, then he certainly understood why the painters as free as a bird survived and were always good-humored.

But the master had his own thoughts about the pair. He was firmly convinced that the painters had a dubious sideline. So he resolved the matter to the bottom of it.

From the moment he lost the two painters never leave the eye. Bruno because he is the most talkative of the two seemed to be, he sought rapprochement with him, and then he invited them both several times for dinner.

The painters do not pay attention first to the many questions of the master, but when, after a copious drink, again with his infamous gevraag gradually and began sniffing, and put the devil in Bruno plague appeared.

And Master Simon, is in its element, asked and asked.

“It’s really amazing how you can live in such difficult circumstances and yet not lose your temper. You certainly have an extra income. Am I not right? Tell me about it!”

“Yes and no,” said Bruno reluctantly. He dropped his voice to a whisper down and continued: “We are at night often on the road!”

“At night, what you say! You have to explain to me,” said Master Simon, who is nearly bursting with curiosity.

And while Bruno is these days have no desire to say something, as long urged the master, until Bruno him by the name of the Most Holy did swear, no one but a single word of the matter to betray.

And he began: “It will surely be known, sir, that in our city the great magician and magician Scott lived. He came from Scotland, as the name suggests. Among the nobility of Florence if he is in a generally respected rejoice. And when he went to another town wanted to go, sent it to him a message, that he both students of art had to pass before he Florence would leave. And because the magus a wise man, he followed the advice of the city. Both students put the glorious work of the great man to this day. They deal with the highest circles of Florence, who they want to help fulfill, whether it’s tender love ties or financial matter goes. By a happy coincidence came I with my friend, this secret society rightly so. It helped a lot of money raised, but also happiness in beautiful and distinguished women. Not to mention the dazzling celebrations, the heavenly music and the golden halls … “

Master Simon listened intently to the story of Bruno, he asked more and more details about this union. So they took everything from beginning to end by again.

The master began to quiver with excitement. Inwardly he opposed first and was the sweetest fled to escape the danger, but his curiosity was stronger. So he said: “Never, ever, I think that you are in such high circles condition, and such connections available. But tell me, I can not join in?”

“I can not decide, I can not really decide,” Bruno said with a shy face.

“Listen,” said Master Simon, “I am a noble one. Vallecchio My mother was born.”

“Ah, why has that much money on silly,” thought the artist. But he said aloud:

“It’s not just a noble lord, everyone who wants to come to this union, a bravery test pass, so the right to love and lust to conquer.”

Now that the master actually stopped the breath in the throat, for his whole life he had been a weakling. But he said quickly: “If necessary, I am always willing to make such a test.”

Bruno saw that it was high time to stop this nonsense. So he said: “Next month, my friend, the president of the Friends of the League, of his journey. Because of the warm friendship that I you’ve experienced, I will be a good word for you. Perhaps you will then an easy task. “

And that was it.

All month long entertained the doctor in medicine at the two painters the finest food and drink, and in return the artists had a great night mirror on the door of his house painted and said, This is the weapon of the doctor’s house. This was an allusion to the actual knowledge of the medical doctor. And since all the inhabitants of Florence were the actual skills of the doctor informed!

And finally came the day when the painters with a serious face when Simon came and said: “The day has come, Master Simon. Yet this night you will, if you want, enjoy the splendor of golden halls, a heavenly banquet experience and the most beautiful women and girls from the city caress. Only a little bit of courage … “

“What should I do?” cried the impatient medical artist.

“Only a trifle, dear master,” said Bruno. “But we have a good word for you done? Listen: after dusk, go to the cemetery at the Santa Maria Novella church. There awaits you a rough hairy animal that you are back to us will bear . Probably will not omit, in order to frighten. But, dear master, do not be frightened, it will again soon subside. One thing however, you must pay attention: the name of God, you may either express, or take in mind, and if the animal you bring to the target, you must keep arms crossed, otherwise you do not meet the conditions of the test and we all three have to pay for this. “

“And another thing,” said Bruno. “Dress you feel festive, and let the friends of the League recognize that Reverend we bring the circle.”

Then left the two painters. When dusk the chief said to his wife that he had a distinguished patient visits. He perfumed himself from head to toe and pulled his Sunday scarlet cloak with fur collar. And then it was dark, he went on the road.

When the church was not a soul in sight and master Simon was scared and anxious. Yet he entered the cemetery and looked from there to the church square. Suddenly he heard a terrible noise and he could hardly believe his eyes. From the vicinity of the Via della Scala was something appeared that looked like a monster with horns. Buffalmacco had in fact attracted inside his coat and his face covered with a devil mask. He turned and turned, shouted, cheered and screamed and rattled while still an iron chain.

“Oh God, help me,” cried the master loudly and went bravely to meet the monster. When the animal stood before him and the master had climbed on his back, he implored all saints in heaven, that they would assist him.

Huy, what a flight! As fast as his legs could carry him Buffalmacco ran away with the master, as a slumped on his back hung. And when he had reached the town dunghill he jumped up and threw the poor man in it.

The Simon went cold on the back and he began to weep and swear terribly. But he soon regained control, lost no time and climbed out of the dunghill out, after which he hastily took off the feet. But alas, he spread a terrible stench, that our two painters, who had followed the master, quickly ran away.

And the master, who dressed as festive and delightful perfumed the house had left, now spread a different kind of perfume mixed with the sewer air from the pit, his new home all weapons honor.

When the two painters had achieved de Melo alley and below the window, cursing and screaming heard that the dear Simon was greeted by his wife, they were laughing so hard until they were in pain.

The next morning the two rascals painted wasblauw their backs and went straight to master Simon. He received them with a pitiful sight, but before he could tell what had happened, Bruno said quickly: “From an accident, you had better mention it, dear master. We both have by your cowardice and by breaking your promise such hits risen, our backs are black and blue. “

They stripped their clothes in the dim room and gave the blue color really impressed if their backs bruised Sat

“But that’s not all,” said Buffalmacco. “Thanks to you, they knocked us out of the league and we are losing not only the good money, but also the favor and passion of the most beautiful women. There is nothing else about us, then we complain to the court to do .. . “

“Do not, dear friend, do not,” begged the master, terrified, “rather I stop what you each month as compensation.”

And because the appearance is still ruling the world, being both the supply of experienced first hand. But after much pressure from the master in the end they declared, with an arch smile, ready for every month the “reparations” to accept.

And so were they all happy. Bruno and Buffalmacco however, could not keep their mouths shut so soon knew every child in Florence, what a huge idiot this master of the medical sciences was.

* * * * * * END

Image source

Do you know..

what the number one phrase in many online chat environments is? Is it “ASL”? Is it “Hello, how are you doing?”? You would think so but most of the time, this is not the case. The most frequently used term on many “social” sites like chat rooms seems to be “I’m bored.”. Yet, these same people are not willing to do anything to fix this transient state of mind. When many people see the above phrase, they usually don’t think think to themselves, “I wonder what causes this in people” but it’s one that’s revealing of the state of society itself. Simply put, it seems that as generations have come and gone, people have become more lazy.

What is implied by “laziness”

Laziness can mean many things but the most socially accepted way to define it is not being as productive or even unresponsive in a situation that would call for the opposite. For example: people putting off their work until the last minute, taking unneeded breaks. Or: when you ask somebody for a favor yet they’ll make it the least of their worries, despite not having anything else to do. And especially: when somebody says they’re bored, yet they’re more than likely to look to others to fix this.

Laziness affects the way we communicate, treat others, the way we work, as well as choices in life. For example, a normal conversation between two strangers usually involves two people asking each other questions. These types of conversations usually begin with a “Hi, what is your name? What are your interests/hobbies?”. But this is not how many conversations play out. I’d be willing to wager that most conversations end after “Hi, how are you doing?” or “Hi, what is your name?”.

Another example is people choosing convenience or something which would make you happy instantly over something that will almost guarantee happiness in the end; bad decisions like leasing that cool car you’ve been wanting but know you really can’t afford until you’ve saved enough cash. The root cause of this? Part greed but also part laziness. People are more willing to take the easy route rather than take the necessary steps to insure that a decision won’t screw them over in the long run.

But why are people like this?

Image sources 1 – 2

This is a daunting question, although on the surface it may sound like an easy one. If you ponder this question, you may start to realize there are many factors. And in fact, there are several of them.

Advancements

One of the biggest reasons that I believe people are lazy is because technology has drastically changed. Think about this for a moment. When hackers gave birth to the internet through ARPAnet experimentations, communication drastically changed. The internet has had a massive impact on the world. It allowed us to send emails to anybody, anywhere in the world and at any time. News from around the globe beccame easier to access. If you wanted breaking news on a bomb scare or a war, all you’d have to do is perform a simple google search. Everything from news to books, music, games and even sports scores are right at our fingertips. It’s a great escape from reality. Having said all of this, it’s fair to say that the internet has changed the way we view the world.

It’s a known fact that technology plays an integral role in our lives. Even walking up and down the street downtown, you can spot at least many people in business suits with ear pieces on or kids with their faces buried in Nintendo DS’s.

Convenience

Convenience deserves a category all on its own because not all of it is related to technology. A great example of convenience is fast food restaurants like McDonalds and even buffets like Golden Corral. Example: You one of these company’s food commercials come on and the food looks delicious: Sweet and savory honey mustard chicken, grilled to perfect and topped with sizzling spices, and best of all you don’t even have to make an effort to cook or clean the dishes afterwards. There is always a catch, however as most of this food is packed with calories, which you may or may not be able to burn off through exercise and may lead to other problems like fatigue and disinterest. Fast food restaurants and buffets are great in moderation but they can contribute to general laziness.

In general though, anything that aims to replace a typical, more time consuming task can affect our mindset.

Education

In more ways than one, technology has caused people to get in the mindset of expecting things. But one other factor which I feel is overlooked is the school system. You may be asking, “wait, what does school have to do with being lazy?” Consider how the education system is structured. Students have a wide array of subjects to study and learn, ranging from English/literature to science, math, history and/or social studies and possibly even a few electives like Spanish or French. How do you fit all of this into a single 8 hour day and remember what’s needed to excel in your classes? It’s not easy. And in many subjects, especially history, material is presented in a right-from-the-book type fashion, essentially forcing people to become bored. Education generally is an overloading of someone’s brain with facts and ideologies in a short period of time in a plain fashion. On top of this, most students have homework every Monday – Thursday. How can we expect kids to achieve all of this without becoming uninterested and as a result, lazy?

Work

Work is another aspect of life which can cause laziness. Many people don’t have the luxury of working in an environment where you can relax if needed. A 40 hour work week, working 8 hours per day is a lot to stomach. And sometimes, our work even takes over our lives, making it seem almost impossible to do anything else.

Examples

Here’s a small experiment to try out: Become a recluse for a few days. During those few days, indulge in the world of technology, whether it be a computer or a dvd player. After this, try go out and socialize face to face like you normally would. It feels slightly weird and less enjoyable, doesn’t it?

Technology can be a good escape from reality but it can also cause distractions in our lives. And most of this is due to the effectiveness and the convenience that technology brings. You can lay back on your La-Z boy power recliner, have a beer and text any of your friends on a cellular phone while watching the big football game on Sunday. You can even order dinner and do your grocery shopping online, all without even having to pick up the phone to communicate with others. Convenience and effectiveness is something that’s desired these days and so it becomes unacceptable, even unbearable in some cases to wait for anything else. The world today is fast moving, convenient, spontaneous — too spontaneous.

Laziness can carry over into various aspects of life and have a negative impact, be it school or work. It can even get in the way of important things like your family, friends, spouse and kids. Be honest, how many times have you blown off your friends because you were playing a video game on the computer when in fact you really could have used that breath of fresh air and socialization?

What’s more, laziness affects people of all ages, especially teenagers. It was estimated in a study involving 1,000 15 year olds that approximately 3% of them regularly exercise. This is an alarming finding simply because exercise plays a vital role in health. As I pointed out earlier, being overweight can cause disinterest and fatigue. Our teen years are also one of the most crucial times in our lives. Many choices we make during these years can define who we are. These choices can make or break us later on in life.

In conclusion

In short, it’s quite clear that there are an overwhelming amount of factors that come into play when pondering the question “what makes people lazy?” Is there a gene that is responsible for laziness? This is a question that is debated even to this day.. But one thing is for sure: Laziness is largely what you make of it.

I hope you found this article thought provoking.

What are your experiences with laziness? And what do you think of laziness as a whole?

For various reasons, and far more than most men may realise, many women fake having orgasms.

According to Mandy: “I fake it when I get bored and want him to stop.”

But for Simonefaking an orgasm is about not hurting her partner’s feelings. While conceding that her refusal to ‘coax’ him into doing what she likes will leave her unsatisfied, she notes, “sometimes you have to suffer, that’s life. Disappointments happen in everything.”

She says that sometimes faking an orgasm is her only option as it’s not so much what the man is doing that causes the problem.

“It’s the tool they have to work with, size does matter.”

For her, it also depends on the nature of the relationship. “If you are in love, you would give him hints as to what to do, teach him the ropes. But if you know that you are not going to do it again, you just go on with it (faking).”

Main reasons

Jenniferhas faked her orgasms on numerous occasions. She notes that she may be distracted, tired or simply not in the mood.

According to marriage and family therapist Dr Sidney McGill, Jennifer’s reasons are common among women.

“A woman may fake an orgasm if she feels bored, tired, uncomfortable, distracted, tense, angry or sympathetic with her partner’s inability to satisfy her sexually. Feeling forced into engaging in sex when she is not in the mood is also a common reason for faking orgasm,” said Dr McGill.

He notes that common among young women is a difficulty in reaching an orgasm or she may never have experienced an orgasm and feels she must provide a signal for her sex partner to work towards reaching his own orgasm soon. She may simply want her man to feel confident about his sexual ability.

For Jennifer, protecting her partner’s ego is also one of her reasons.

“For some men, if you tell them, that will kill their ego because they think you are telling them that they are no good.”

Dr McGill notes that both men and women generally think that a man’s sexual prowess should not be called into question. He should sexually satisfy his woman, at least most of the time. The man feels he must be able to control his ejaculation and get his sex partner to reach an orgasm before he does, or ideally, get both to climax together.

Jennifer notes that the man will never be aware that she’s faking because, “I’m that good.” Which is a good thing because according to Dr McGill, it could destroy the relationship. “If he finds out, he would feel hurt that she has not been trustworthy in their sexual lives together. The knowledge could cause a further breakdown in the relationship.” But he notes that faking an orgasm could be a sign of a problem in the relationship.

“In many cases, faking orgasms is a symptom of problems in the relationship. For example, the man might be out of a job or having problems at work and is suffering from depression. He may also be struggling with a low self-esteem or a sexual problem. His sexual performance might be at its worst during this time and his sexual partner might not want to put him under any more pressure, so she pretends to be sexually satisfied by him.”

For a relationship to work, some of the most uncomfortable issues have to be discussed. “If the woman feels that she has to constantly fake her orgasm, she needs to tell him what she thinks the problem is in a very respectful way, at the right time and place, and seek professional help if they are not able to resolve the problem together,” 

            Your local supermarket like Walmart or Kroger will have everything you need very cheap for this first activity. At our Walmart here in little Georgetown, Kentucky, we have little foam letters in a foam board for older children to play with for a dollar. If you take all of the letters out of the board, give your child a crayon and a piece of paper they can play with it safely while learning. Let your child pick out the color they use to make it more exciting for them. They also learn a color and how to think for themselves. They can then trace the outline, with your help of course, and learn their ABC’s. Seeing the outline of a word, letter, or number is something that a lot of scientists and elementary educators are using now to help the child memorize what the word, letter, or number looks like. Your Baby Can Read also uses this method. It seems to work with a lot of young children.

            Another activity to learn numbers and have fun: All you need is twenty (20) paper plates, stickers or paint, or crayons/markers. For my example, I’ll use the sticker idea, but you can potentially use anything, just be sure to supervise your young ones. On ten of the plates, you will write a number (one through ten). On the other ten, you and your child will put stickers to match the numbers. Your child will learn to count while developing their fine motor skills, that is, using there fingers better. Another thing I like to do with my son is to let him color in a coloring book for a week or so and then we get my “grown-up scissors” and his safety scissors and cut out enough of the pictures to be able to take some stick glue and help him glue them on to match the numbers. By matching the numbers, I of course mean that you write a “ONE 1” on a plate and you and your child will put one object, shape, etc. on another plate to match it. When you are done and everything is dry or can be lifted up, you can hang these pieces of art in your child’s room as decoration and to remind your child of their numbers a lot. This also makes their room more inviting to them and they will want to spend more time playing in their room while you do something they can’t help with.

            This next activity won’t cost you a dime. You have to clean the house, do dishes, do laundry, go to work, etc…right? When you clean the house, get your child to help you. Teach them how to do things for themselves. My son is scared to death of our little vacuum cleaner, so when I get done vacuuming, I will unplug the vacuum, roll up the cord and let him act like he is vacuuming. When you do laundry, teach your child how to sort, what each liquid does (if the child’s old enough to handle applying the liquid ONLY let them with ADULT SUPERVISION!! I honestly can not stress that enough), and then lastly, to fold or hang and put the clothes away. When you’re not at work tell your child about your job and what you do, where you are going and help them make up a job they would like to do and get them to pretend to go to work. When you do the dishes, at first you can get a stool and scoot your child up to the sink with you and let them dry the plastic bowls and their plates. Eventually teach them how to wash their plastics and to wash more as they get older and progress. If you have a dishwasher, it’s still good to get your child into the habit so they have the experience and appreciate what they have more. You may also teach them how to rinse dishes, though nothing glass or sharp, and how to load the dishwasher.   All of this will get your child into the habit of doing these things. At a young age, you are literally brainwashing your children to be able to do for themselves. Please do not take the word brainwashing negatively. Doing these things with your children develop their large and small motor skills and teaches them everyday life skills. This activity will help your child grow into a very independent person. Sure, you may still have your bad days with them because we all go through that infamous rebellious stage, but at least they will know how to do the things you ask and this may help with the tantrums that are caused by not knowing how to communicate what is needed or not being able to do what they want to do. So as you see, this activity not only helps your children grow to be more independent and knowledgeable, but it helps you as well.

            You have to shop for groceries, clothes, and more. This is a wonderful learning activity you and your child can do together. This is the end of dreading the trip to the supermarket. First rule of thumb: eat before you go and maybe take a snack and drink for your child while gone. On your trip, your child can see out their windows and see the passing vehicles, animals, and scenery. When you get into the store, never let your child out of the cart, this teaches them not to touch things or scream for things they want. Most stores place the toys and candy down low for your child to be able to see them and grab them. Keeping them at your level make it more efficient for you to shop. They will see how you interact with other people, teaching them social skills. So make sure to speak up and be polite when you talk to people. Be sure to be on your best behavior. If you are, they will be. Tell them what you’re getting, how to look for the best price, point out colors and try to get them to repeat what you say. They may not understand things like prices yet, but it’s a good habit to pick up. This teaches your child about a great deal of things. All of this will also be great life-skills to have. You are again preparing your child for life.

Going outside a lot, even if its just for a short walk around the block or letting them play in the yard, helps develop your child’s large motor skills. You can also teach your child about weather, the seasons, animals, and the landscape. Playing games like tag teaches your child to run and to take turns. Tag and other outdoor games may be a little hard for younger children to grasp. Trying to teach your child how to gallop then skip, and jump rope, and the works are also good outdoor activities. The sun will get your child a lot of vitamin D; just remember to apply sunscreen to keep you and your child out of a world of sunburnt pain. Even just sitting them on the front porch with some chalk helps develop your child’s fine motor skills.

Playing with the toys your child already has and developing their imagination with them is a fascinating adventure. Their minds are so inviting and creative. Keep pouring in information and they will gladly use it to their advantage. Helping your child to discover their imagination helps them to start thinking critically. They will use what they know to play and invent. It’s a good way to get to know your child. Always remember to try to show your child the difference in fantasy and reality. Not knowing what is separate usually is what makes video gamers violent.

            Playing hide-and-go-seek is a great game to get your child to take turns, wait patiently, to count, and to be able to search for something. They enjoy it as much as you do. Just do not be too hard on them, they are not experts like us, remember we have had years of hide-and-go-seek experience where they are just starting out.

            Listening to child appropriate music and songs is a great way to get them to think about playing instruments or singing. This is a great way to get your children involved in school. Music is also a great stress reliever in high tension homes. Music can teach your child the nursery rhyme classics and how to count and teaches them their ABCs.

            Reading books with your child is a great way to get them into reading books, learning new words, and learning about their world. Picture books are great for younger kids especially when they want to try to take over reading. Educators are encouraging parents to start reading chapter books earlier. You will have to read to your child for a while but eventually, they will want to read to you. They will want to read the same book over and over. Repetition is good. Let me repeat that: Repetition is good. The more your child sees a word, the more they will understand what that word means.

            Do not ever dumb down your vocabulary for your child. Speak with their vernacular for sure, but never ever stop using big words and explaining the meaning of those words to your child. Even small babies will retain some of the information you give them. Doing this will increase their vocabulary and prepare them for school. They like to pretend to be adults just like you! If you are active in their learning process, they will want to learn more.

            For holidays you and your child can make homemade gifts and decoration. As the holidays get closer I will try to post some ideas for decorations and activities.

            There are many arts and crafts you and your child can do. Once a week we have a “color of the week”. We try to focus most of our coloring and finger-painting on that particular color. Say one week is yellow. We will use purple construction paper because it’s yellow’s complementary color with “YELLOW” written at the top of the paper in yellow. I will cut out different things in magazines, which I can get free at our local library, that are yellow. We will then get yellow paint, crayons, colored pencils or markers and write out what each thing is and he can draw something that is yellow. Say I cut out a yellow shirt, under the picture it will say ‘SHIRT’. My son can draw an apple, banana, or a flower, etc… Each picture has a name and he will trace each word by himself.

            I will try to tell you of more activities as I discover them.

Thanks for reading and I hope you and your child will have a lot of fun discovering and learning about the world around you.

Jennifer Atha

How To Join the Mafia

With the World rapidly changing, and the struggle to survive constantly getting worse, one of the best things to do is join a mafia. In a mafia you will be able to feel like a don and add a couple of years to your life. This is how to join.

1.)    First of all you need to find a mafia that suits your needs. Some offer cool things such as being shot at and others involve feeling Italian, so the choice is yours.

2.)    You will then need to fill in an application form. Mafias absolutely adore good punctuation and grammar. They also love exclamation marks, they make anything sound exciting. BOOKS!!!!

3.)    If your application is successful you will be contacted. Most of the time someone will turn up in a black BMW (any black car is a mafia car) and drag you into it. Inside there will be a man with a hat and sunglasses, he will threaten to kill you, but in fact he’s letting you know that the funs about to begin.

4.)    You will be taken to a warehouse (where the mafia lives). There you will be tested if you are capable enough to be a mafia man. This will involve smoking a cigar, shooting a gun, wearing a suit, grooming moustaches, speaking with a range of accents, counting to 10 and killing a chicken.

5.)    Now if you have passed the above congratulations! You are now able to feel like the Godfather or even a gangster. You are now underway to take over the area and recruit more people into your Mafia.

6.)    If for some reason these steps may not work feel free to start up your own mafia! Nonetheless being in an organisation like this requires having a good image, so it is extremely that you follow my instructions! In no time you will be the boss and control whatever are you may be in.

This article is a 100% correct and is based on extensive experience at being a don, as well as ever ongoing research coming out of my hat cover mafia head.

I am not responsible for any mafia involved mafia occurrences, and mafia trouble (or fun).

Two: Pretend your a robot.

Three: Try to swallow your tongue.

Four: Bark at your dog.

Five: Buff your cat.

Six: Build a house out of toothpicks.

Seven: Preach to your younger sibling about seat belts.

Eight: If you are single, recite romantic poetry to your toaster.

(If not, do it anyway.)

Nine: Say everything twice.

Say everything twice.

Ten: Speak in acronyms.

Eleven: Take your hamster to the beach.

Twelve: Do the hokey poky at 3 am.

Thirteen: Listen to metal music and head bang.

Fourteen: Lick other people’s elbows without them knowing.

Fifteen: Go squirrel watching.

With all these Internet crazes, I wonder when did we as a population become so stupid.  When did laying face down on a vending machine suddenly became so entertaining?  Have we became so bored with ourselves that this has become our favorite pastime?

What’s worst is that the crazes is becoming deadly, at least with planking.  A man in Australia fell to his death because he tried to plank on the railing on his balcony.  People try to one-up each other by planking in dangerous places.  They are planking in trees, on animals, on buildings.  The rules to planking was “the stranger the place, the better” but now it seems more like “the more dangerous the place, the better”.

With lamping, planking, and leisure diving, I begin to wonder what will the next absurd craze will be. What stupid, meaningless activity will people latch on to next? Posing with a tissue box on their heads and putting the picture online?

Only time, the Internet, and a very bored person will tell.

I don’t know.

There are so many opportunities and doors to be opened, I guess to be truly successful (in the eyes of our materialistic society of course) the chances are like that of winning the jackpot through the lottery. But how should I know? I’m young, naive, gullible and sometimes too innocent to see the truth.
I like to be a bystander, a wall flower if you will. I like to see what surrounds my life and what ultimately help shape me into the woman I am today. Before I go on, I would like to ask you a question. Have you ever tried to see yourself from another perspective? Say, for example, the universe. How would the cosmos see YOU in this vast universe, situated on this small, tiny conflicted little planet we call Earth.

Some of us aspire to be something when we grow older, to make a difference in this world. But how many people truly achieve this common goal? I bet a lot actually, but how am I to credit them when I don’t know of their names, faces, personalities? There are too many people on this earth, but if I could, I would try to know their stories. I would want to know what collection of experiences has created their memory, if they had loved, had a family or other similar questions. If you’re reading this, I strongly wish for you to share a part of yourself with me. Communication now-a-days is a very powerful tool, and why not utilizes this gift to its full potential?

Rewind back a bit, before I asked that question. What sort of external influences help shape my personality and even physical appearance if I may add? What aspects of myself have I somehow subconsciously absorbed from living in Downtown Toronto? Would I be a different person if I had lived in the country side? Question like these are always circulating around in my head, generating more doubts on top of already existing doubts.
Hopefully my words do not cause too much confusion, and my somewhat philosophical questioning gets you asking yourself questions.

Life presents opportunities, both in large grand entrances and in subtle barely noticeable caresses. But we all have to live life if we like it or not. And I plan on enjoying every moment I can.