The worst weighin ever

Okay, maybe it's not my worst weighin ever. When I weighed 240 pounds I practically cried every time I stepped on the scales (and I weighed 240 pounds for over a year).<br /><br />Maybe it's because I'm out of tears that have been shed over other things, or maybe it's because I know this is temporary, and I can and will lose the weight, but I'm not terribly upset with myself. It's more like, oh well, shit happens. I gained ten pounds in twelve days. <br /><br />So here it is, available for public viewing, my weighin this morning, at home, buck naked, before breakfast or coffee:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">188.0</div><br />I knew it was going to be bad. In fact, I shut my eyes before I looked down at the scale and tried to guess my weight. You're not going to believe this but I guessed exactly correct. I guessed 188.0 and that's exactly the number I saw on the scale. Weird.<br /><br />The last time I stepped on the scales was January 12, that's only twelve days ago when I weighed 178.2. Normally I weigh every day, yet I stopped for 12 days. During that twelve days I was dealing with my sister's sudden move to Seattle and my totally insane niece, fallout from other family members because I basically kidnapped my sister and moved her, and of course, the snowstorm, ice storm and the power outage. All great excuses for eating like a fool (at least that's what I told myself).<br /><br />Not only have I been eating poorly and eating too much, but I also cut back on my gym workouts drastically. I didn't even go this morning, claiming I was just too tired and too beaten down. That's exactly when I should go, but I just couldn't do it this morning.<br /><br />No worries though, I have plans to get back on track. I'm not beating myself up too bad because I have lots of other people that do a great job of beating me up mentally (okay, really only one person but she has many personalities).<br /><br />Tomorrow I meet with an attorney to file court papers to stop my niece's crazy antics. Even though I'm dreading the whole legal maze I'll have to go through to stop my niece, I have a sense of relief that I made the decision to follow through on what I've been talking about for months.<br /><br />Thank you for all your supportive comments on my sad day post yesterday. It really helped. I agree that I need to seek help from a professional. I know this, but right now I'm swamped with all the financial, medical and now legal facets of my sister's life, not to mention my real life job.<br /><br /> Until I get things straightened out for my sister, I have to put myself on the back burner, but just temporarily. I know someone I can see that can  help me. She's a therapist I met years ago in Toastmasters and she's awesome. We've kept in touch and as soon as things calm down a bit I'm calling her for an appointment. I think she can help me sort out this craziness. Thank you again. I love you guys. You make me feel somewhat normal (and not the wicked witch of Washington). <br /><br /><br /><br />

The worst weighin ever

Okay, maybe it's not my worst weighin ever. When I weighed 240 pounds I practically cried every time I stepped on the scales (and I weig...

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Circumvention

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIr8MwgY7Gd1VkeW28mxH6vkSw99gMa4Nj-GyBEN0ZVYevQrEKcOBDaiq7qIS5PeS6DftztN1MG6MqmhNg7pyG8XElFDLE8FIrNYf9p8A38mEkLmewqErs6g5ER1mw7_h6lMEzyNkUxJ8c/s1600/url.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIr8MwgY7Gd1VkeW28mxH6vkSw99gMa4Nj-GyBEN0ZVYevQrEKcOBDaiq7qIS5PeS6DftztN1MG6MqmhNg7pyG8XElFDLE8FIrNYf9p8A38mEkLmewqErs6g5ER1mw7_h6lMEzyNkUxJ8c/s320/url.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I<b>NDIA TO PAY GOLD INSTEAD OF DOLLARS FOR IRANIAN OIL. OIL AND GOLD MARKETS STUNNED </b></span></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Via <span style="font-size: small;">DEBKAfile </span></span><br /><br />INDIA is the first buyer of Iranian oil to agree to pay for its purchases in gold instead of the US dollar, debkafile's intelligence and IRANIAN sources report exclusively.  Those sources expect CHINA to follow suit. INDIA and CHINA take about one million barrels per day, or 40 percent of IRAN'S total exports of 2.5 million bpd. Both are superpowers in terms of gold assets.<br /><br />By trading in gold, NEW DELHI and BEIJING enable TEHRAN to bypass the upcoming freeze on its central bank's assets and the oil embargo which the EUROPEAN UNION'S foreign ministers agreed to impose Monday, Jan. 23. The EU currently buys around 20 percent of IRAN'S oil exports.<br />The vast sums involved in these transactions are expected, furthermore, to boost the price of gold and depress the value of the dollar on world markets.<br /><br />IRAN'S second largest customer after CHINA, INDIA purchases around $12 billion a year's worth of IRANIAN crude, or about 12 percent of its consumption. DELHI is to execute its transactions, according to our sources, through two state-owned banks: the CALCUTTA-based UCO Bank, whose board of directors is made up of INDIAN government and Reserve Bank of INDIA representatives; and Halk Bankasi (Peoples Bank), TURKEY'S seventh largest bank which is owned by the government.<br /><br />An INDIAN delegation visited TEHRAN last week to discuss payment options in view of the new sanctions. The two sides were reported to have agreed that payment for the oil purchased would be partly in yen and partly in rupees. The switch to gold was kept dark.<br /><br />India thus joins CHINA in opting out of the US-led EUROPEAN sanctions against Iran's international oil and financial business. TURKEY announced publicly last week that it would not adhere to any sanctions against IRAN'S nuclear program unless they were imposed by the United Nations Security Council.<br />The EU decision of Monday banned the signing of new oil contracts with IRAN at once, while phasing out existing transactions by July 1, 2012, when the EUROPEAN embargo, like the measure enforced by the UNITED STATES, becomes total. The EUROPEAN foreign ministers also approved a freeze on the assets of the Central Bank of IRAN which handles all the country's oil transactions.<br /><br />However, the damage those sanctions cause the IRANIAN economy will be substantially cushioned by the oil deals to be channeled through TURKISH and INDIAN state banks.  CHINA for its part has declared its opposition to sanctions against IRAN.<br /><br />Debkafile's intelligence sources disclose that TEHRAN has set up alternative financial mechanisms with CHINA and RUSSIA for getting paid for its oil in currencies other than US dollars. Both BEIJING and MOSCOW are keeping the workings of those mechanisms top secret.<br /><br /><br />

Circumvention

I NDIA TO PAY GOLD INSTEAD OF DOLLARS FOR IRANIAN OIL. OIL AND GOLD MARKETS STUNNED Via DEBKAfile  INDIA is the first buyer of Iranian oil t...

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Fast Fix Lasagna

Those of us trying to lose weight know more than anyone how difficult it can be to enjoy pasta.  2 oz of spaghetti is such a joke!<br /><br />Hungry Girl certainly has her <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/newsletters/raw/666" target="_blank">substitutes</a>, but I still prefer the real deal.  My go to pasta is <a href="http://ronzonismarttaste.newworldpasta.com/" target="_blank">Ronzoni's Smart Taste</a> - loaded with fiber, but not grainy like traditional whole wheat pasta.<br /><br />I always say that my favorite "international" cuisine is Italian, and particularly lasagna.  I LOVE lasagna.  I'm worse than Garfield when it comes to this layered feast.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://theskinnyonmyjeans.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/its-that-kind-of-day.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://theskinnyonmyjeans.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/its-that-kind-of-day.gif" width="324" /></a></div><br /><br />I came upon <a href="http://www.marlenekoch.com/" target="_blank">Marlene Koch's</a> recipe for a lasagna-style dish called Fast Fix Lasagna.  Though this is not prepared with your traditional flat lasagna noodles.  She uses these cute little curvy numbers called Campanelle {i.e. "bell flowers"} noodles.  Have you heard of them?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3aZSckjoWsxrwaGPwRKlq7SkoY0Q7ZPBeMg96dhJTKd8EBjfWUoiHS8jh-77WSHkmes2m7_z-h_jlQe9m_nyagLRG18yJNZvPr6LAn8J5SjtEpOD4evvQbhGokz-ToE4mSQFS0BK0kE/s1600/campanelle+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja3aZSckjoWsxrwaGPwRKlq7SkoY0Q7ZPBeMg96dhJTKd8EBjfWUoiHS8jh-77WSHkmes2m7_z-h_jlQe9m_nyagLRG18yJNZvPr6LAn8J5SjtEpOD4evvQbhGokz-ToE4mSQFS0BK0kE/s320/campanelle+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Man, I had a hard time finding these.  None of my grocery stores {Giant, Safeway or Shoppers Food Warehouse} carried them.  It wasn't until months later, after first attempting to make this dish, that I stumbled upon them at Target.  Thank you Tar-jay for stocking these awesome noodles in your stores!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjbVvSerD2iPhL0pyxeeyv9FEsSJ_aBH2jEXvpc-sbPVA5b5JUyPFupV9h2ZHepFWyTi8LL5TZUVIEfUSZNrNFXJz3l2ZyW9W33BROyG_grQwR-KUa0EoJ6E1n76JFWv-oaLfYdMYEi4/s1600/campanelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisjbVvSerD2iPhL0pyxeeyv9FEsSJ_aBH2jEXvpc-sbPVA5b5JUyPFupV9h2ZHepFWyTi8LL5TZUVIEfUSZNrNFXJz3l2ZyW9W33BROyG_grQwR-KUa0EoJ6E1n76JFWv-oaLfYdMYEi4/s400/campanelle.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><br /><br />Essentially, the process of making Fast Fix Lasagna is the same as making regular lasagna - the only difference being the noodle shape.  Below is the original recipe.  Obviously because it's pasta, it's high in PointsPlus values, but I promise you it is a nice serving size (1.5 cups or 1/12 of the recipe) and is filling.  Served with a side salad, you'd be plenty satisfied!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2VyQb0mJWVVIMkZXXExyuJMqQrNyT_kEpFurP3X41-_NLFwsIEejAOEDJRdY3N2NNLNVLPoAeocqvQP0aaKWPa1Wk_FeFS8-W2mUne4P-x8r4wYgw4oLj43WvzIW5TyYyBawVtd2iHE/s1600/fast+fix+lasagna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU2VyQb0mJWVVIMkZXXExyuJMqQrNyT_kEpFurP3X41-_NLFwsIEejAOEDJRdY3N2NNLNVLPoAeocqvQP0aaKWPa1Wk_FeFS8-W2mUne4P-x8r4wYgw4oLj43WvzIW5TyYyBawVtd2iHE/s400/fast+fix+lasagna.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looks just like lasagna to me!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctzzzglrVr3L_BpnAGVQDABQHvINAoMH8kWL7JSlofL9RhYeMtmj_xYwNH4Y7qHATaf4GGREd-_qVhVTc0E7jSeh8g3Fg7BvL-zUBdGKvdnlQx4UjicyLpeD6rwrNJA6ZHXZzKx5tud8/s1600/eatwhatyoulove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhctzzzglrVr3L_BpnAGVQDABQHvINAoMH8kWL7JSlofL9RhYeMtmj_xYwNH4Y7qHATaf4GGREd-_qVhVTc0E7jSeh8g3Fg7BvL-zUBdGKvdnlQx4UjicyLpeD6rwrNJA6ZHXZzKx5tud8/s320/eatwhatyoulove.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">her new book is coming out in March!<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Eat-More-What-You-Love/dp/0762445890" target="_blank">Eat More of What You Love</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><u>Eat What You Love - Fast Fix Lasagna</u> - <i>8 PointsPlus</i></b><br /><b>Ingredients:</b><br /><ul><li>12 oz campanelle noodles</li><li>1 Tbsp olive oil</li><li>1 small white onion, chopped</li><li>3 garlic cloves, chopped</li><li>8 oz Italian turkey sausage, bulk or removed from casings (I used Shadybrook Farms)</li><li>1 (14 oz) can reduced-sodium beef broth</li><li>1/3 cup dry red wine</li><li>1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes</li><li>1 (6 oz) can tomato paste</li><li>2 tsp granulated sugar</li><li>1 1/2 tsp dried basil</li><li>1 1/2 tsp dried oregano</li><li>1/4 tsp black pepper</li><li>1 1/2 cups low-fat cottage cheese</li><li>1 (15 oz) pkg part skim ricotta cheese</li><li>2 Tbsp water</li><li>2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese</li><li>1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese</li></ul><br /><b>Directions:</b><br />1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.<br /><br />2. Cook the pasta according to package directions while preparing the sauce and set aside.<br /><br />3. Marinara sauce: In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and saute for 2 minutes, or until tender.  Add the garlic and sausage and cook until meat is slightly browned.  Deglaze the pan by pouring in the beef broth and wine and scraping the browned bits from the bottom.  Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, herbs and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.<br /><br />4. In a medium bowl, mix together the cottage cheese and ricotta cheese.  Add the water and a dash of black pepper.  Set aside.<br /><br />5. Toss half of the red sauce with the cooked pasta.  Layer half of the pasta in the casserole dish.  Top evenly with the cheese mixture.  Pour 1/2 cup of sauce across cheese mixture and top with remaining pasta.  Cover with remaining sauce and sprinkle top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.<br /><br />6. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through.  Serve.<br /><br />

Archer Farms Eat What You Love Food Finds target Weight Watcher Recipes Fast Fix Lasagna

Those of us trying to lose weight know more than anyone how difficult it can be to enjoy pasta.  2 oz of spaghetti is such a joke! Hungry Gi...

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Having a very bad day

I've been on an emotional downward spiral all day today. After a 15-minute phone conversation with my craziest niece this morning about her mother (my sister) while on my way to work, I came into my office shaking, my heart pounding and very close to bursting into tears. It was a horrible conversation with a crazy person, and not a good way to start my day.<br /><br />I feel like my heart has been ripped out and stomped on. Even as I write this ten hours after the conversation, I can feel the pain like a knife in my chest.<br /><br />I won't rehash all the evil things she said to me, but I have retained a local attorney to help me stop her from ever contacting me again. It's a sad situation and a path I didn't want to go down, but my mental health is too important to me to keep living with this kind of insanity. <br /><br />I really want my old life back. I didn't know how good I had it, when life was simple and my biggest concerns were exercising and losing weight. I'm trying to make the best of things, but the sadness is overwhelming me.<br /><br /><br />

Having a very bad day

I've been on an emotional downward spiral all day today. After a 15-minute phone conversation with my craziest niece this morning about ...

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Weekend Recap

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I've been cooking up a storm for the last few weeks.  I normally cook several times per week but lately it's been everyday, and I like that.  I'm sure that has also been a huge contributing factor in my weight loss success.  Only allowing 1 meal to be eaten out per week plus no Starbucks Mon-Fri has been working to my advantage!<br /><br />Having said all of that, I have lots of deliciousness coming your way :).<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><ul></ul><ul><li><b>Oreo Truffles (2 Points+ for one ball)</b> - these are SO GOOD and incredibly easy to make. I first had these at my aunt's annual Christmas party years ago, and this year I made them as part of the cookie tins I gave to our family as gifts. They were a HUGE hit! Freezing them makes it harder to go overboard {if you think you might}. </li></ul><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/assets/recipe_images/Easy-OREO-Truffles-52162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/assets/recipe_images/Easy-OREO-Truffles-52162.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of <a href="http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-oreo-truffles-95085.aspx" target="_blank">KraftRecipes.com</a> - totally forgot to take one!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><ul><li><b>Fast Fix Lasagna (8 PointsPlus for 1/12 of recipe)</b> - this is a tried and true lasagna recipe. The only difference is the noodle you use. No, it's not those pesky <a href="http://www.house-foods.com/tofu/tofu_shirataki.aspx">Tofu Shirataki's</a> {sorry <a href="http://www.hungry-girl.com/">Hungry Girl</a> - I love you but I don't love those as a viable pasta sub!}. It's this flowery little ditty called Campanelle. Real pasta. Real lasagna flavor. </li></ul><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmEALiB9v_MbtOcuUsbF4E-dBgkMSdsaHT0HTcDF-juqLo5xb7AczfeQKZsDIAiFHjpe2G_P6oD5N_W4gAFxf7Mdh7s96dSmXTeUoAHdnF_ewribrLOm1I352S0REL-YJwx1EXxvv6Wk/s1600/lasagna+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmEALiB9v_MbtOcuUsbF4E-dBgkMSdsaHT0HTcDF-juqLo5xb7AczfeQKZsDIAiFHjpe2G_P6oD5N_W4gAFxf7Mdh7s96dSmXTeUoAHdnF_ewribrLOm1I352S0REL-YJwx1EXxvv6Wk/s400/lasagna+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><ul><li><b>Kickin' Chicken Pot Pie (7 PointsPlus for 1/4 of recipe)</b> - <i style="color: #cccccc;"><span style="color: #999999;">Made Hungry Girl's way - your total would be 6 PointsPlus.</span> </i>The only difference between how HG makes it and how I did is I used canned chunk chicken {in water - 99% fat free} instead of 8 oz of raw chicken breast. Do what's easiest for you. BUT, again, a wholesome meal. No fake ingredients. Veggies, protein and carbs abound! AND the serving size is HUGE. You'll be making this in a 9" pie plate and you get 1/4 of that as a serving! I sure do wish I could get 1/4 of a pumpkin pie for 7 PointsPlus.</li></ul><br /><div style="color: #674ea7; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BhsCMau1q_VC1jDv0RIWBW0dlV60TFNE8HSEqaN4Yv2rixHUMq_inprjDr0EkkeTVtYP3w59JaudpdQE-s-pYuSmHOJjQFSV4096OaosVOGfFd83ckx0jumu2HeiQxBymxQwoHerhY0/s1600/chicken+pot+pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2BhsCMau1q_VC1jDv0RIWBW0dlV60TFNE8HSEqaN4Yv2rixHUMq_inprjDr0EkkeTVtYP3w59JaudpdQE-s-pYuSmHOJjQFSV4096OaosVOGfFd83ckx0jumu2HeiQxBymxQwoHerhY0/s400/chicken+pot+pie.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b>***********************</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>We did meet with the caterer on Saturday.  It went well and the dinner options for the wedding sound great.  Of course, it made my palms sweat facing the reality of the cost.  Don't get me wrong, I knew what to expect, but we are actually committed now, and this is <i>really </i>happening!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_a28JvV_U3vd9WGPTxoqAHCy3P03cBWWTJL2L0nEHbivYfHnNk0sf3bX_Rj9MeVCefzO2EQCxwr1ECWP12tKXxeMLxPAN4EaKqj7tXOtHmbBtnt4EDKmLbtzJvbjwBO0-r8ZsQaZnBA/s1600/charles+dreaming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ_a28JvV_U3vd9WGPTxoqAHCy3P03cBWWTJL2L0nEHbivYfHnNk0sf3bX_Rj9MeVCefzO2EQCxwr1ECWP12tKXxeMLxPAN4EaKqj7tXOtHmbBtnt4EDKmLbtzJvbjwBO0-r8ZsQaZnBA/s400/charles+dreaming.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Meal-schmeal.  I have something they can eat that won't cost a lot!"</td></tr></tbody></table>Things like cars breaking down on the drive back from the caterer meeting are expenses that we really don't want to see happening right now.  We were in Joel's Corolla coming upon an intersection when this loud noise began, accompanied by a funky smell.  He quickly maneuvered us off of the highway where we proceeded to push the car into a 7 Eleven parking lot {with the help of a passerby who seemed to come out of nowhere!}.  This is just not something we need right now at all.<br /><br />We definitely have some bad luck on our side lately.  In just the past three months alone, we've now had two cars break down {well, mine was a broken heater but mine was also covered under a warranty}, a furnace that blew only cold air, a microwave that wouldn't heat the food {do you see a trend here??}, and my engagement ring is currently in the repair shop because a prong bent back causing the diamond to shift.  Fortunately the heater and microwave are things our landlord is fixing, but we've definitely incurred some indirect costs as a result of those 2 things being broken {like higher than normal utility bills}.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44M5-3qFgDF8OtVEsnNMJh3BYREzWUbpyxm6-fRpI8OrS8gndik8f2LXnpcdEFA7Lre1ehqUPkOBxe-ZCL7P5_ZjLN2fHiicHV7JzALGZQ__SlmlDdcpvSaxZW8W87qA6o5iNcpXokag/s1600/merlin+relaxing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44M5-3qFgDF8OtVEsnNMJh3BYREzWUbpyxm6-fRpI8OrS8gndik8f2LXnpcdEFA7Lre1ehqUPkOBxe-ZCL7P5_ZjLN2fHiicHV7JzALGZQ__SlmlDdcpvSaxZW8W87qA6o5iNcpXokag/s400/merlin+relaxing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bad luck?! I've been living the life!"</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Are we alive and well? Yes, and that's frankly all that matters.  It could always, ALWAYS be worse.  <br /><br />At least I survived my first week of classes unscathed! <br /><br />I hope <i>you </i>had a great "on plan" weekend!

wedding Weekend Recap Weekend Recap

I've been cooking up a storm for the last few weeks.  I normally cook several times per week but lately it's been everyday, and I li...

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IS EATING YOUR EXPERTISE?

How much energy and judgment each day do you give to your weight, what you are eating, the diet you are following (or not), and to your overall value as a person? If I were to throw out a percentage of people I help who spend over 90% of the day thinking about these things, I would say over 85% of my clients are obsessed with their body, diets, and food. It's a co-dependent nightmare.<br /><br />I remember when I was obsessed. I was so afraid of being fat that most of my waking time I'd think about the food, calories, my strategy of control, the exercise I'd have to do, and everything that needed perfect order so that I'd avoid gaining fat. Fear of fat gain became my identity and my expertise.  How many of you reading this have the same fear, or have opposite fear? <br /><br />The opposite fear would be not getting to eat again. Wondering what you will be eating next, when you will get the opportunity to eat, feeling sadness over the foods you think you are entitle to but are being denied of, and also fantasising about what you will be eating the moment your diet is over. Is eating your obsession, addiction, and your expertise?<br /><br />If we lived even just 150 years ago you wouldn't have the access to food the way you do today and eating/dieting/weight obsession wouldn't exist. So what would you be doing with your time then? What are your natural talents and how would you express your creativity? If eating/dieting wasn't your main talent, then what would all of your energy and time go towards? How would you express your uniqueness? What if the time, education, and studying you've put into diet after diet after diet went towards a college education? How many of you would have a PHD? The sad part of being identified by eating, food, dieting, and weight is that you are wasting your authentic talent, creative gifts, and your life away on something that doesn't give to the world, but instead isolates your unique and special gifts away from being exposed. Have you ever considered the amount of incredible power you've given away to eating that could be harnessed toward creating something magnificent?<br /><br />Looking back I can see the incredible amount of power I had, that was going inward towards fear, isolation, and control. Now, that same incredible power is going outward, manifesting something creative. Each and every person has unique power that shouldn't be defined by food and your body.<br /><br />The power you think you are receiving from food is in reality, your own power to create. What are you capable of with that power? It's time you find out.

IS EATING YOUR EXPERTISE?

How much energy and judgment each day do you give to your weight, what you are eating, the diet you are following (or not), and to your over...

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Create a blogging culture in your English classroom

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Recently I created a Slideshare called ‘Your blog can be a fantastic teaching tool’ and I wrote from the standpoint of the teacher using a blog to teach.  </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">I posted this in an earlier blog post. Here it is just as a reminder. </span></span><br /><br /><div id="__ss_10644966" style="width: 425px;"><b style="display: block; margin: 12px 0 4px;"><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal/a-blog-can-be-a-fantastic-teaching-tool" target="_blank" title="A blog can be a fantastic teaching tool ">A blog can be a fantastic teaching tool </a></b> <iframe frameborder="0" height="355" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/10644966" width="425"></iframe> <br /><div style="padding: 5px 0 12px;">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/" target="_blank">presentations</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/fionabeal" target="_blank">fionabeal</a> </div></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Today’s post examines how a blog can be very beneficial to the students in a classroom, and in this case, an English classroom.  </span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Create a blog for yourself and for your students</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">One of the best ways to start transforming your classroom is to first create your own blog and then let the students create theirs. Link their blogs to yours by using a blog roll</span>.  <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Look at the example from Mrs Albanese's class. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Here is the perfect example of the students blogs listed down the side. This is very important because often you want the students to comment on each other’s postings and this way is easy because they simply visit your blog and easily find the rest of the students' blogs. <br /><a href="http://mrsalbanese.edublogs.org/">http://mrsalbanese.edublogs.org</a></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIPw1ufNvOVH7oy8VyRoQw8K1UW2Hcj-6kloR56cI7kk4wFuQ2Pr7OEjNzwtIZ0zttVSg2QIeDkalu7ii63pKbWxnPRoq0lBM9PDokdq_EQcJonBV3LaMq2ZgXjg0jT0zhS_pKYEd-SBE/s1600-h/image16.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1VIGRvAzXMOe65ThWjKzYiC_RX_dttpcxBpZEQwkqHwZ3LgiTyGgyBtXOCUOswT49qV1eeHDEASLvr_6igL736iHdpwx0rvQxCeo8XD6qwTj5g2vkRfREmPQlGJNCz6SOlX5CTgW8hw/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Which blogging platform?</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Naturally you want to use  platform that is safe, economical, spacious and attractive.There are many options but I will just mention four. </span></div><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Edublogs</b></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Now that Edublogs no longer has advertising on it it is a much better proposition to use. Edublogs provides a very small amount of storage space, so I pay for extra space yearly. You can then create student blogs yourself using something called <i>the gmail hack</i>, so that you have access to passwords. (The </span><span style="font-size: small;">Edublogger </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">is a great site with plenty of tips and tricks on how to do things like that) The only <span style="font-family: inherit;">problem is that Edublogs doesn’t allow much space on their free blogs for the learners. But it would probably do for a year of work.</span></span><br style="font-family: inherit;" /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://bellbulldogreaders.edublogs.org/" style="font-family: inherit;">http://bellbulldogreaders.edublogs.org/</a></span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfXHVJPTmqUi4eis99Mlm71PTssSB7BiGWRdnJOM81rtvf39RUxRgbnHlsGftEVLYlUSZ5c0XK6Uc6JNBbjP0xBgE5ORPSM5358OuBO1JNXap-wsCurbtax9t3ivQ7h1vIL-lhuTYHUAk/s1600-h/image40.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3bGVuKU5bqXsB0fgHSRipc5OAjwFF7CdtU_2KsKA2mQo-ff7gf_tWAaItUKoh4pINi90UBfLN4RcIv1DmZd_m0jHfI-EiUxeg7DljS2slond23nK1KFrF0BIEehqfbUKCSgwHjZdAaA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Blogger<br /></b>I particularly love using Blogger for myself because it gives loads of free space and has a nice feel and touch. The templates are also very attractive. However, it is often felt to be unsuitable for students because of “the next blog” icon at the top. <br /><a href="http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/">http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLu5kabwLa7IhZkclcgAo25bGsFtqIqOq1Uyz3dxXSAUr5uAnqD_68ygoAcHf_6xKQ9uao7PyQ8tzX5aHQkgnWEJvF5lxR4XzOddFVK-b81l06KT24-UO7FeM9FLMM_VEEoKIFTNKKBmg/s1600-h/image27.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvmXpZpfrfYfnXu7D62e6_XXBnznIIggixCVaV6IeEU0lwFMsJx5NDjKcVkTl7czHwTrGx9Q4Budm_xXZnjkqNOcPm3akMT4DamGB06bH6-_Rm4VgVv_PENZJvicpwuNoSNQWxUX98kJU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Posterous</span><br /></b>Some people rave about using Posterous blogs for collaborative projects. The reason for this is that you can send an email from anywhere to your posterous blog. It then becomes a draft ready for you to edit and publish. To get details for this look at: <a href="http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/28413/blog-from-anywhere-instantly-with-posterous/">http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/28413/blog-from-anywhere-instantly-with-posterous/ (</a>I have since discovered that you can also post to your blog using Blogger.) Here is an example of a posterous blog used for a global collaborative project.<br /><a href="http://kstadler.posterous.com/">http://kstadler.posterous.com/</a></span></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Kidblogs<br /></b>There has been a lot of talk about Kidblogs being a safe and simple platform. The Kidblog ‘About page’ says “Kidblog allows teachers to monitor and control all publishing activity within the classroom blogging community.” </span><span style="font-size: small;">I haven’t personally used Kidblog, but it is supposedly really easy for creating a class blog and blogs for your students. Here is a post that tells more about the pros and cons of using Kidblog: <a href="http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/">http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/</a><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here is an example of a kidlog <br /><a href="http://kidblog.org/MrsKolbertsClass2011">http://kidblog.org/MrsKolbertsClass2011</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7TolFNtLTtLOZTzKi_cVKy6nRWmQuHayvh7PXuiZHhIaRYB15yBtoUZbzl8JPEgV5gh7G3IAJrTUiOZAkJzUYRyCw-be1Wx18rv6pw9HJ0ELmd8kyPpmmNHsnY_E4aRmGJ0EpaD3CnLA/s1600-h/image30.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4D68tNAFR5rE2x4CETqpz9fIGRDjbZGOVBzxBaopku-TiOfaLMbu_DviLg8EXmNwgE8cC3eyyj5JzbmZRi0Ir3ensc7n-R5rM5i3598u9WEsllG1igob1nMD4aihS7wmwl_AXvKjuVY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Well, whatever platform you use, just do it! </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Can a blog really benefit an English class?</span><br /></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A blog can benefit any class...any subject. But today I am going to focus on English. I was quite inspired by a post I read recently on an English Teacher's blog (</span></span><a href="http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/life-in-an-inquiry-driven-technology-embedded-connected-classroom-english/">http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/2011/12/13/life-in-an-inquiry-driven-technology-embedded-connected-classroom-english/</a>)<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"> - and this caused me to think about writing this post. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Well, I am sure you have plenty of ideas of what you can do with a blog in an English class. I will add ideas to these further along in this post.  It is certainly a fantastic way to get your students writing. To start off take a<b> </b>look at Mr Miller’s blog and see how he uses his blog for his English lessons. I like the way he also has a wiki to support the blog. In my thinking the two go together…<br /><a href="http://millersenglish10.blogspot.com/">http://millersenglish10.blogspot.com</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span></span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://mrsalbanese.edublogs.org/"></a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: yellow; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Notice how the teachers in these blogs give regular detailed instructions to their students.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/kajohnson/">http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/kajohnson/</a></span><span style="font-size: small;">  (her Grade 9 class)<br /><a href="http://msjohnson12.anewecology.com/">http://msjohnson12.anewecology.com/</a></span><span style="font-size: small;"> (Her Grade 12 class)<br /><a href="http://hoodsenglish.blogspot.com/" title="http://hoodsenglish.blogspot.com/">http://hoodsenglish.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqMfnIIGiACUaZ4YWjRNScP1OYDsNPfnHkCwj6Tx-ioSkArjTcCjYbhiLEGCTWsOvoHjc-b2bDzZTQkkLniN0zm3v95U0VWcpm0yl2jaobPyHdYXs1O2WnEa04OPVRKo7xqYojCMvFRE/s1600-h/image33.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHIfnB4vpdn3pzp_pBs7lhOpSnY_evUSGxR50nu-zXSuwDXBlYvTVxIxSNJERuPYaLpOYXFbpisJP7Eyag83EaVqhMQXvJiZxgyEkFUHJaGy-qF0E_SezIg17GM8EaltD98eMLqFRor4/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">This teacher directs her students to using web tools. <br /><a href="http://thelamppost.ca/" title="http://thelamppost.ca/">http://thelamppost.ca/</a></span></div><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What activities can you do on a blog in an English class?</b></span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As you know English has four main strands – reading, writing, language and listening and speaking.  </span><span style="font-size: small;">These can be beautifully incorporated into blogging. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">1. Let your learners answer questions and respond to prompts online. You could set a question on your blog and the learners can answer the question in your comment box. Notice how <i>The Hawks Talk</i> does this. <a href="http://stgeorgesenglish.com/"><span style="background-color: white;">http://stgeorgesenglish.com</span></a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"></span> <span style="font-size: small;">They can then extend the conversation by answering your next question or prompt and then post comments on each others blogs.</span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">2. For literature lessons, invite an author to post on your blog and let the learners comment on this post.  This is a great way to have book discussions online. You could even try and organise a Skype interview with the author and let the slearners summarise this afterwards. There must be plenty of examples of Skype chats with authors, but here is a post about one with  Scientist.<br /><a href="http://techblog.stcyprians.net/index/skype-chats-with-scientists-by-ms-n-wallace">http://techblog.stcyprians.net/index/skype-chats-with-scientists-by-ms-n-wallace</a> </span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">3. The learners identify and discuss the major points of a book, article, speech etc. </span><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">4. The learners write good book summaries and assess others summaries using a rubric.  <br /><a href="http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/" title="http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/">http://lhsblog.edublogs.org/</a></span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvsDBcgSUCkK6wl5d-aXiS7-S12NThPI-nh9O3Nabe16I4_cKWGys8RD1xz6_8fNrp81zL4vNKi0X13GjZY93TIn6iK2nN0N4HgFkcavlzPgSC5P7GNdmT-7pSHJl9aqw-mcWxHB8v-D4/s1600-h/image43.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix3moahLiXNQDo74h4_VOscur19fUa1HWaciuJq33GZk1awdNBEAs4RH25dwSl1jDOW-mIDlDBIFrnU3gv33mPGT6KzTjsIkq8Ucm8qFpYQq3-J6khxrPSeQC1b0iF9E8q9w_jr6y2m6o/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">5. Let the learners post reviews of movies, books, concerts, games etc regularly.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">6. Use a blog to archive daily class notes. You (or someone in the class) could post summaries on to your class blog. This will be helpful to students who may be absent.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">7. For listening and speaking activities learners could use a MP3 player, read into it and then post it on the blog. They could concentrate on voice modulation, inflection, and tempo. The learners could then listen to each others’ speaking activities. You can virtually put anything on a blog. There’s a programme called embedit.in which gives anything the necessary HTML code which is necessary if you wish to include it on a blog or wiki</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">8. The learners could make presentations on different things and then embed their presentations on webpages. My Slideshare above mentions how useful Box.net is for this. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">9. They could learn about language conventions and then practise using the example on your blog.  You could post weekly exercises for them to do. The following is an old blog but it gives some ideas like this.</span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://hargraves12.wordpress.com/">http://hargraves12.wordpress.com</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: small;">You could take this further and ask them to make podcasts and even slideshows of difficult conventions.</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT5E9VuH1A41ytnGYVjrHHvdTU5mYlOb6f8iSr1DcJ5-FPzfA-30LxrsRS7xbt7P1fclBCZ8zVGLKZV_g9Hzr3FzRNH9pdYIbnWIl9DVyD9TXbCK1di6wfU7_8xzFBibSHVellYEQ2dFc/s1600-h/image46.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-NRlqxNo2WtA7YB6tlsHXrRC9tookHsqBERInaZh8gSGyQnpLKOfPzC_XSktFHWD1gJVAccAvg8W_GSr2hp0fR0TLwtiMGdhJQse9AgM6Eg3dwrcs4uV_WYY_QG0SQba2dywpB0tocY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">10. As they read a novel prescribe blog prompts for them to respond to. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">11. They could paraphrase sections that you post on the blog.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">12. You could teach the learners the structure of workplace documents and let them analyse them in terms of heading, font, pictures and readability etc. </span><span style="font-size: small;">They could make suggestions on how to improve them. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">13. When starting a new theme create a “<a href="http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/teaching-guides/21806">KWL chart</a></span><span style="font-size: small;">” on your blog. Have students blog about what they know, what they want to know, and eventually what they have learned. Students will be able to see other posts and scaffold their learning off the responses of others. As the educator, you can quickly assess, focus, and possibly redirect your unit to meet the specific needs of your students.<a href="http://teachinghistory.org/system/files/KWL+Chart+with+Knowledge+Questions.pdf">http://teachinghistory.org/system/files/KWL+Chart+with+Knowledge+Questions.pdf</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">14. You could link documents to a folder in Box.net (also a free programme). </span><span style="font-size: small;">Notice how Mrs Lesniak does this. <a href="http://lesniakenglish.blogspot.com/" title="http://lesniakenglish.blogspot.com/">http://lesniakenglish.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglkdBtQ0oxrall9VJcOuJE2AyADJ3usv9r2WMUXGuNMBcxCLXiJdrcUCJmRejkvbrXsUD2DuMlFKd4FRvhiJjLWYq6luTm6uIs1syZbRV7Cpw7922n2sdG_0hJ4pHGdahwgY-5-4L-r-k/s1600-h/image49.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMfwZU43_53AasQsjMk6KaGNrSb3wYGYym8uvQe5MupowYCRGe5qi0DDcsTW5k3fJ0YSVSsC2MqfR09V5Qb3BYApTyJtO2fSC3mT5m0IqeGyb2q16OSKn1LTdB7Y5VOoW4T3MamH2Aq1w/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">15. On your blog you could communicate with parents about classroom news, policies and events. You could publish commendable student work, writing, photos, video etc.<br /><a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/" title="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/">http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/</a></span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFeMhBGlb92rwg9mUuxGASbJdEmXBHx7Hk1Ks-XLblVVFGkNeMTj1Two2Q0fkikp1NyhxUucDdCd9wwDQ_M-I5Nne0eSIjeyKdi5hMiHG9nQ23ByGk8nGDBc5QH4bbb-Eb9bPw2O4GuU/s1600-h/image52.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRYyyhaoRsE-n494i6ABtUGQ53rAeZI2LaCDx7TCnjlwSuZETaZkdcX_gW4lS4a6D38A_Hmm5iEl5HVAc-hbxyGY6I7JJZrxy5uNtLEkYGa0XP8EBhNA_sjtw4ZYh6X6JJPheDSauobuM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;">16. You could use your blog as a place to reflect as well.<br /><a href="http://jimburke.typepad.com/" title="http://jimburke.typepad.com/">http://jimburke.typepad.com/</a><br /><a href="http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/" title="http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/">http://mtnbrookseniors.blogspot.com/</a></span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span> <br /><span style="font-size: small;">17. Your blog could be a blog of ideas for English teaching.<br /><a href="http://catlintucker.com/">http://catlintucker.com/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypJyGIVIhw-cqlY04Bl7wrXp5sAofLaveeaxNldnnxqyMa4JXOSw5p4zSaI7GME5UG_dzhTRE-ykz2ku4jzVA0MFzwBZ8H4bXqiI4U1pcV_-tfgBwsEEk8mmk_7JaGSw-e3uCb3kBGGU/s1600-h/image56.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5-ZzDIfO57Bfa25-FZBGcMB1MNMnGZnmH-YE0U9gL4pXtpSP100OCyiQWn59T_10EtTMNnpPYXC_LjtQiV8O7Q7clRXHs7I7_a8FdAtKFWsPUoEvNn1nO340WK9-d4xjK9ViG7mQpaU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">18. The learners can write journal entries, essays and poems in their blogs. They could also write book reviews<br /><a href="http://josephr4.edublogs.org/2010/07/19/my-report">http://josephr4.edublogs.org/2010/07/19/my-report</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BCfIxaKMWt3PgWpXWbbEEw2g8Kc69IL4Ns5mzhHfNDqd9Hgclt7gCwUfuRQYtljUCDDcFKLFSXY4kS7qAUMbrSvKCxhDusdgVg4mP1laZSY-PE92AnA23YR6pdYKrEUu9YolsMcZCFw/s1600-h/image8.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-5ldpQ0h3iQff2TUFrypch9tYhgdu_fBgU5XcjVAMuosFy-00Cc5Ai8whwMLrJ9zwO1gHtdP2epmEakb0u064Wa9k8MGkFFm8YcJio36GV_t-HxRhQ3z2TI562pqktFLL8cMur6n2EU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">Further down in the same blog – he relates his book review.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivLjcbQII82OH6xom0h6IVVqBRYed1tnU_L1hxGuZ2-52tnzGQuODg1Kx_njobhyphenhypheno7alHlYGonTbpiBfD2pCjcBU9vDyLcPSlZ5YXHF9wX-2ZL2SjxiT2vCKsMKWSTZ_FhbIb8vIo6rsE/s1600-h/image11.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizR14-VYGU7vciuMf432CcQtCtTyWC85GLBdYj8yV5XO8R80InbjlIJDvkW_gGenCCX1JcY6DRA3-hy0KRsnqDWWCj59y32k2FQhyphenhyphenUy6iS96Itr3nByTdfg_isLaKURerlH1eisHxyzDU/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here are another two posts that give a lot of ideas about book reviews. </span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/">http://mrschureads.blogspot.com/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://theapple.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports">http://theapple.monster.com/benefits/articles/8529-10-technology-enhanced-alternatives-to-book-reports</a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcp92-YyqTqwoEmkhSLRkZDP03X9gmUjfKlpw2tZz5ofdyY7SE_2oCz4oQFjECV0XLiK2Y7Jxqfo6IM5qZXIcx3pRquK70b8_F6kdvVuttG5HJLcpJFZkO2hg-Kvc7HKztIJE_z6Y3Qw/s1600-h/image20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir-eq-Ci-NqTakonuZhG7IIN0EDSpp_XMF93eLvTqBDDF2QXUWqDnMOudwFY7M05UrBqDEL9PC6upS5cS42th-UpUiSXEXcG6SmTz1mBWnGAilEGwI5tbQ_H3vtXDS1dC_tShWNta0FVs/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">19. Illustrate to the students how they can use technology on their blogs. You can do this by using screencasts on your blog or just be blog posts.<br /><a href="http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/">http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">20. Post homework in your blog. <a href="http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/aeharter/">http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/aeharter/</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">21. I love the way this teacher posts lesson ideas in his English blog<br /><a href="http://tefltecher.wordpress.com/">http://tefltecher.wordpress.com/</a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYTJ5s3c-SYomq0bskwqkp2aM_Zc6jAOPNE1DjLrVP5zWSjNJc8qQ8SSAZHXh19G-wIEVwgxIimrsafwTqnK1YNpDGZ18iOrSWaTiVH-WOCzkUIXNJrxi-dG3lSVKK1eiUg29WlGhozQo/s1600-h/image23.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtjy7m-vh_OTexebAF6AteroNvcFpPqUP1zrEYGLSXevAwNUrIc9BVd4PA8ViUvotgXsrkaWyw17TArs3cSI5-_UFSEprREEdKclWvY67sFfmVqzyQmBMZHA31v7l6v4-VxfxlXZwyuEQ/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">22. One teacher I know of got her class to write a novel on a blog. This was eventually published. <br /><a href="http://5bwrites.blogspot.com/">http://5bwrites.blogspot.com/</a></span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88cxHvWRN0-uAcc3wXqDCHXl45qJowIB8yIuDzWqvr4tFiIDsIsDjG_MCVxddjoKkm0YK4_tQ1QII4mwXSZ6q1bEnBHiIDy5Y9mIGk4ncvsINoazax2cHjrvHxC-fUqoauo9D_uc3D-U/s1600-h/image2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIhKbRgzPMy8DDQq2CQG-BOz6TbGuzZ7iZfpVuPicUn_ZcdWfNqzsb6cGXzE0yy_az0_3m6pFYpTZ6uRCmV25seKJwjOhlQ0Ke_JdGUEmInc0jsI8hjHaF55AYo9r4vzZ18hWoHmrxx98/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">23. They could create book trailers for their blogs.<br /><a href="http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/Home+Student+Book+Trailers">http://www.booktrailersforreaders.com/Home+Student+Book+Trailers</a></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ0KNrvksSOag-vAxpIPmu7wVuTRdfHLnmWd10s7_ruVXyNcwN_qZBM76NCpSdDEhVSP6H9RJ664WVbjJjAkS7l6IkS8phMaLcZsvXcV7fE7IVt6bX82q8XUStY5bxl2b-t_EiLKfdKHg/s1600-h/image5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSVXkVlmHucWBXsphV3vjCSF_xIk3H47Eq7JY8BKU_WKyoTL49imaJVMs1iiH0C33hLAflhARuLOm9klqYSYnNGuOF_ANwVY_QjuE8D0AZiLurQzZOukxUx5H_2l4zri10aBL1K3DXZE/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Literature blogs</b><br /><a href="http://www.thebookchook.com/">http://www.thebookchook.com/</a><br /><a href="http://www.zencollegelife.com/50-best-childrens-literature-blogs/" title="http://www.zencollegelife.com/50-best-childrens-literature-blogs/">http://www.zencollegelife.com/50-best-childrens-literature-blogs/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://www.webenglishteacher.com/litcircles.html" title="http://www.webenglishteacher.com/litcircles.html">http://www.webenglishteacher.com/litcircles.html</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/" title="http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/">http://teachwithpicturebooks.blogspot.com/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"><br /><a href="http://msdegenhardt.com/">http://msdegenhardt.com/</a></span> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">(I like this teacher’s collage of books in her header)</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZORvrtpGZXkDYDoD7RvGRiWDfPb1phvzNdcuawTlEPPeRKZe7OZplyhfTQ2gHiLWzqWzg7gV3ldv4YsG68uO54AyYDPb4NmpHgZ8RDiDiB4bQYAbiWJjwqeeHZ0ucuhr78V-aZUi9bg/s1600-h/image60.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTeNaOZBKF0yWqMna78qrNQdakoy_mPIvG-yy_alodTGwMfdnAmxkRkcA3aBJm9FjICRWCmm4vHFhgQVAInICJlSLHZz9zELzHDDMa1jEG0CcUfJuWIcqxVGvOwKWgjv7TmV2l6lTV1E/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">24. Don’t forget about using a fake facebook page (template in Google Docs) which could be then embeeded into the blog. This teacher created a fantastic template last year in Google docs that he is willing to share.<br /><a href="http://www.teachthecloud.com/2011/02/historical-facebook-tutorial.html">http://www.teachthecloud.com/2011/02/historical-facebook-tutorial.html</a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0B3uy2d7pI5K6cMsvjFCtlEfxZYBl0qikhdJ3bufrw-dQK-0kAv9tBZky-xxphnB24thWwj8NwvAbCjzijIMW7dYoUu3xm6APg7w5N5z__EkAbehrt_hXJGAB7I5Ve61wS82qgTP10No/s1600-h/image%25255B4%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdFIvBq9DQF61KZ-HBxKxYR4U6qcgDoPjezKQen3BWX8QH3mB6vbcaDOiKDi6vARVSZIy6DtNJL3rlShQqHA_wcO2VdMyDrU_oUrJtza0KXD6P-VEMe0dX3IzIYfbcucOSi8129FBZ4_E/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-color: -moz-use-text-color; border-style: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /> <span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Other useful links</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br /></b><a href="http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/" title="http://blogallaboutit.edublogs.org/2010/04/23/kidblog-an-easier-alternative-to-blogging-with-elementary-students/"></a><a href="http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers" title="http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers">http://supportblogging.com/Links+to+School+Bloggers</a><br /><a href="http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/dehogue/">http://student.sheboyganfalls.k12.wi.us/dehogue/</a><br /><a href="http://englishwithlaura2.blogspot.com/" title="http://englishwithlaura2.blogspot.com/">http://englishwithlaura2.blogspot.com/</a><br /><a href="http://englishwithlaura4.blogspot.com/" title="http://englishwithlaura4.blogspot.com/">http://englishwithlaura4.blogspot.com/</a><br /><a href="http://englishteachinglab.blogspot.com/" title="http://englishteachinglab.blogspot.com/">http://englishteachinglab.blogspot.com/</a><br /><a href="http://www.huffenglish.com/" title="http://www.huffenglish.com/">http://www.huffenglish.com/</a></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">A great source of ideas for English teachers</span></b></div><span style="font-size: small;"> <br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And to end off this post here is a fantastic Ning for English teachers which will undoubtedly have plenty of resources and ideas.</span><br /><a href="http://englishcompanion.ning.com/" title="http://englishcompanion.ning.com/">http://englishcompanion.ning.com/</a></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfxE9lizA2t68P_Ejqpp220wAOwhTR7wMOupfjcLCz6e6nBn4q6L9NY5ctU_EJYwPdh_OXhyLaj0-Z2wTp3E-qmdrwRllysBIfqM1R1eZuqUN3zcJNdATvfZ2WqYezDOiasZRX7uiG3BM/s1600-h/image37.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_XtdJ3QgPhvFPgWXxeMeREJVnI7YBweDBFbG-qIUXOvHjQI2u5rO0NbC3nFBE7Gy7wt1vpVI5jLHZZtb7x7l9rh1BrXeOIYhBhshfh1G_ejwS7faO4gBbiEHR7ZGXS_hnhil05iLxSxM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="242" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>

Blogging English Technology integration Create a blogging culture in your English classroom

Recently I created a Slideshare called ‘Your blog can be a fantastic teaching tool’ and I wrote from the standpoint of the teacher using a b...

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Let there be light!

After 54 hours without electricity, we spotted the Puget Sound Energy trucks at the end of our street around 6 p.m. yesterday. It was cold, dark and wet out but there they were, restoring electricity to our street. I seriously love those guys. They were working around the clock, 24/7, restoring power to over 300,000 homes in the area. It was a cold and rough 54 hours without power, but we made it.<br /><br />Funny story, about three hours before the power came back on, my husband hooked up our generator. We plugged in the refrigerator, the coffee pot and we had TV. While my husband was at the store to buy more gas for the generator, the power came on. I knew as soon as he hooked up the generator, we'd get power. He should have done it three days ago!<br /><br />Thank goodness for our gas fireplace which kept the family room warm and toasty, and our gas hot water heater so we could still take showers. I even washed my hair and then sat by the fireplace trying to dry it. You don't realize how much you rely on electricity until it's gone.<br /><br />I couldn't even go to the gym because because their power was out too even after the streets cleared up. I thought that was a pretty good excuse for not working out.  <br /><br />We were house-bound Wednesday and Thursday because the snow was so bad we couldn't get out of our driveway. My husband has a four-wheel drive truck so he could have made it, but he decided it wasn't worth dealing with all the other drivers and the mess out there. When the ice storm hit on Thursday, I'm not sure the 4x4 would have done him that much good.<br /><br />It was truly an amazing sight this past week. Here are a few pictures from the Snowpocalypse or Iceaggeddon (everyone had a name for it). Most of the ice and snow are gone now with temperatures in the 40's, but it was fun while it lasted.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">My car, encased in ice. I had chipped the ice off the back and side windows, but I couldn't get the doors open because of the 1/4 inch of ice had frozen them shut. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9JGTR8Ep9ytksUYmiiApCdvACjPslfqStofzUzXSvEnICfTTvNe9eZcVmmK5eO6UIe7DDiMvSHdN6APaxuN7TVBUAIYKRJlp6vHN0IGzptil3DFCHV9_-zoAGO6e_zzFTzVcddeQ1Hto/s1600/my+car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9JGTR8Ep9ytksUYmiiApCdvACjPslfqStofzUzXSvEnICfTTvNe9eZcVmmK5eO6UIe7DDiMvSHdN6APaxuN7TVBUAIYKRJlp6vHN0IGzptil3DFCHV9_-zoAGO6e_zzFTzVcddeQ1Hto/s400/my+car.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;">A Tree in front of L.A. Fitness</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyRJ1J9K6F86hJwBAURj32Y5rHEivBJK7c6xk161zKsY1ZDaICLEfhuyION_VUopT-OiuXs3m64v26t0Z1dUzfKuwzo34EYDjoPeyJjltzS5HOM-vmV5T2507OLuvaTUFmyGDymeg00pA/s1600/Evergreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyRJ1J9K6F86hJwBAURj32Y5rHEivBJK7c6xk161zKsY1ZDaICLEfhuyION_VUopT-OiuXs3m64v26t0Z1dUzfKuwzo34EYDjoPeyJjltzS5HOM-vmV5T2507OLuvaTUFmyGDymeg00pA/s400/Evergreen.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The parking lot at Fred Meyers (grocery store that was open).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFgrp9B5DDrroywVaUgokX-rEEw7UaGUKirULRqWWMORQC0QMcKvy8x5AuVorOG22KcSg1dI-8SoCPknKlL-1e6_tE_3HFdJl4M-gpebeiebfN8UWTjzzFhPFKEPGTpewr-J6S7mVVtT6/s1600/Fred+Meyers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPFgrp9B5DDrroywVaUgokX-rEEw7UaGUKirULRqWWMORQC0QMcKvy8x5AuVorOG22KcSg1dI-8SoCPknKlL-1e6_tE_3HFdJl4M-gpebeiebfN8UWTjzzFhPFKEPGTpewr-J6S7mVVtT6/s400/Fred+Meyers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">A tree in front of Fred Meyers </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDa5BmMdpke3-RIoX5oXcRpgfwbuJxNCUz7CvE_azojuUUa3aNO_J1yPdtqSVhln5nxYxKG2Ql41zMW20q9-4p5UNS0VUTvilZUt6mtzeL7BT9ghMC3dLho28XtBIEYB44lutjanQDp1c/s1600/Ice+Tree+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWDa5BmMdpke3-RIoX5oXcRpgfwbuJxNCUz7CvE_azojuUUa3aNO_J1yPdtqSVhln5nxYxKG2Ql41zMW20q9-4p5UNS0VUTvilZUt6mtzeL7BT9ghMC3dLho28XtBIEYB44lutjanQDp1c/s400/Ice+Tree+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Another ice encrusted tree </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif78_wBumfBo9z-6mhM58cztgPhPKbr4ohN2EZo-0V39l19P3JKm5W3Xp6T0pLJJdnwjWtAaIc_wOVO-AH_cpCd34qS5eG1-qIhJ7Mw0WWoMOojrk7GKqqE9pH_GPLW0K2qaBZn5LRb1_h/s1600/Ice+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif78_wBumfBo9z-6mhM58cztgPhPKbr4ohN2EZo-0V39l19P3JKm5W3Xp6T0pLJJdnwjWtAaIc_wOVO-AH_cpCd34qS5eG1-qIhJ7Mw0WWoMOojrk7GKqqE9pH_GPLW0K2qaBZn5LRb1_h/s400/Ice+tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Close up of the ice on branches - it was just beautiful </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQkPczAIPWixYBb1Ob55EnC7cCDVyXK0HJKUZ2yryeJhWXKSGZEQZ0i_TfT2G4O7JYnawf0pcJE2hAIzB0kWcdGdL-_pO4TJxgdpZFV3AlLCYQuW-1P2Imhi2VMNUvoUtsj7934u2ySUg/s1600/Ice+Trees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQkPczAIPWixYBb1Ob55EnC7cCDVyXK0HJKUZ2yryeJhWXKSGZEQZ0i_TfT2G4O7JYnawf0pcJE2hAIzB0kWcdGdL-_pO4TJxgdpZFV3AlLCYQuW-1P2Imhi2VMNUvoUtsj7934u2ySUg/s400/Ice+Trees.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Our Japanese maple tree in front of our house </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqizOTP_P6gtGBvQS3lysIzpAvWa-BrxMaOxClsSolcSrsa7u51g18VMkgNQ-cde68W6WNTqb4JACJ7iptfYY6b8OZ39gN8l-3kqhg0zafbQLlAg9C2QEWfNEf7NlF75pIgc36DofHdt3/s1600/maple+tree+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqizOTP_P6gtGBvQS3lysIzpAvWa-BrxMaOxClsSolcSrsa7u51g18VMkgNQ-cde68W6WNTqb4JACJ7iptfYY6b8OZ39gN8l-3kqhg0zafbQLlAg9C2QEWfNEf7NlF75pIgc36DofHdt3/s400/maple+tree+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">View down our street. My husband was trying to get his truck cleaned off so he could take me to work on Friday. It took him about 20 minutes. Luckily he has remote auto start so it could thaw from the inside out or he might not have been able to open the doors because of the sheath of ice covering it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXvtjxXGyu8gKrDNGD5AmPwourb2Twjs_cs8_-Ed5jPWCm0jS__WA8dKoIYvzwDAZ04IHdEmwZLG6WZMDvUYYbXp_0GATPE0ftS9zf-ROCjkcYTJ_gCrswZ_esuPod9q1zNGU-5Gp_T1m/s1600/our+streeet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBXvtjxXGyu8gKrDNGD5AmPwourb2Twjs_cs8_-Ed5jPWCm0jS__WA8dKoIYvzwDAZ04IHdEmwZLG6WZMDvUYYbXp_0GATPE0ftS9zf-ROCjkcYTJ_gCrswZ_esuPod9q1zNGU-5Gp_T1m/s400/our+streeet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">More ice encrusted branches on our Japanese maple. I had a fascination with the ice. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ_flOaSycnisMzrxOb9jVv6tG-dYmGwDfnRV7lfeRo9qEHFNR5rQGCoE4SfNUYyQNYVuZ4Xi0LNIshlh5yoLPkgthVoL7ESjLM51yuM8nd1TKavgnRU_mRJNcMXgTN3xHEbin21Tq1sh/s1600/Japanese+maple+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJ_flOaSycnisMzrxOb9jVv6tG-dYmGwDfnRV7lfeRo9qEHFNR5rQGCoE4SfNUYyQNYVuZ4Xi0LNIshlh5yoLPkgthVoL7ESjLM51yuM8nd1TKavgnRU_mRJNcMXgTN3xHEbin21Tq1sh/s400/Japanese+maple+tree.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The bamboo in our front yard. It's usually about 15 feet tall and completely blocks the view of our neighbor across the street. Now it's only about three feet tall since the ice made it fall, and we can see our neighbor from our front window (which I hate). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzErwGsi_GRf9VuhEPxTqSAKIDHXQKGb1m8abfYy_QzLq8yN4YOE4dMSfocCUPJVBHtp4qxK0pBCdbleD0v_sEVCCeI2-K2ypINmrsMyoRW1iujaf5GLLqVvpP7NcmiWa_UCq8J5KGpQV/s1600/Bamboo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhzErwGsi_GRf9VuhEPxTqSAKIDHXQKGb1m8abfYy_QzLq8yN4YOE4dMSfocCUPJVBHtp4qxK0pBCdbleD0v_sEVCCeI2-K2ypINmrsMyoRW1iujaf5GLLqVvpP7NcmiWa_UCq8J5KGpQV/s400/Bamboo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />I made it to the gym yesterday, but my eating hasn't been stellar these past few days. A lot of eating out which I'm not accustomed to doing, and sometimes I didn't make the best food choices. We went to the movies Friday night and I had  popcorn <u>and</u> candy. I haven't done that in years and my husband was shocked. I told him to leave me alone, I was going through a bad spell. The whole sister/niece thing, and now the storm and no power, who gives a shit anyway about what I eat. I know. Silly me. Of course <u>I</u> care. Now it's back to the grindstone, eating right and exercising. Life goes on.

Let there be light!

After 54 hours without electricity, we spotted the Puget Sound Energy trucks at the end of our street around 6 p.m. yesterday. It was cold, ...

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VERTIGO, the Bit Players

<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>by guest contributor Allen Hefner</i></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: black; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhip_lxNFq1CMQ2im21bCjekjW1rA2yDPu2mBF-T-Zf1DE1-Uq_gFHeTOOTnIGfIzzggFZMEOnLEX3CHjkfNJ40qujo6HQl8PWsh8waHHO4_8vffXHpNZO1-ox3gikqtv1ye-i3PIZvgZAB/s1600/VertigoMadeleineGavin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhip_lxNFq1CMQ2im21bCjekjW1rA2yDPu2mBF-T-Zf1DE1-Uq_gFHeTOOTnIGfIzzggFZMEOnLEX3CHjkfNJ40qujo6HQl8PWsh8waHHO4_8vffXHpNZO1-ox3gikqtv1ye-i3PIZvgZAB/s400/VertigoMadeleineGavin.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Kim Novak with Tom Helmore in </span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Vertigo</i></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;">A movie as incredible as <i>Vertigo</i> (1958) is a collaboration of many parts.  Even an actor as talented as James Stewart can’t carry a film of this complexity by himself.  The locations, scenery, costumes, set decoration, lighting, music, bit parts and even the cars are important to make any film a success.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I enjoy looking at the Bit Parts in a movie…seeing where the Bit Actors came from and where they went after a successful movie.  Most of them didn’t get paid much, but the good ones put their whole heart and soul into each role, whether it was a small part in a television western or an opportunity to supply an important plot element in a movie like <i>Vertigo</i>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let’s look at some of the larger Bit Parts in <i>Vertigo.</i>  I have listed them in order of the number of roles they have played during their career. </span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8apcW-IaxPkvOpRhb0QyakpzYi4J-9iWClvhJkU7BO9k_iHMAqTAa7CzkhRaaDlYksrBDEtwi20wkAE2ZLau3sh2tm4z6q47BsgNnYpjdqY-aqHe1hcGi20xTjGQ8oidQMxHZMfWMw7ug/s1600/Corby+Bit+Part.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8apcW-IaxPkvOpRhb0QyakpzYi4J-9iWClvhJkU7BO9k_iHMAqTAa7CzkhRaaDlYksrBDEtwi20wkAE2ZLau3sh2tm4z6q47BsgNnYpjdqY-aqHe1hcGi20xTjGQ8oidQMxHZMfWMw7ug/s320/Corby+Bit+Part.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ellen Corby and James Stewart</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Ellen Corby</b></i><i> </i>(1911 – 1999)  238 titles are listed on IMDb for Ellen.  She worked with Alfred Hitchcock in <i>Vertigo</i> as the McKittrick Hotel manager, and also in several of his TV shows.  Her first movie was <i>Rafter Romance</i> (1933) starring Ginger Rogers, released just before Rogers teamed up with Fred Astaire in <i>Flying Down to Rio</i> the same year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Corby’s next film was <i>Sons of the Desert</i> (1933) starring Laurel and Hardy.  She would make two other L&H films, <i>Babes in Toyland</i> (1934) and <i>Swiss Miss</i> (1938).  Her first pairing with James Stewart was in a little film called <i>It’s a Wonderful Life</i> (1946).  She plays a Bailey Savings and Loan customer who withdraws just $17.50 during the run.  Stewart didn’t expect her to say that small amount, so he kissed her!  I guess Frank Capra could get as much out of his actors as Hitchcock.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most of Corby’s roles through the 1940s were uncredited, but she continued to get better and better parts.  Look for her in <i>Mighty Joe Young</i> (1949) the <i>King Kong</i> send-up, <i>The Gunfighter</i> (1950) with Gregory Peck, <i>Angels in the Outfield</i> (1951) with Janet Leigh, <i>Sabrina</i> (1954) with Humphrey Bogart, and <i>Night Passage</i> (1957) again with James Stewart…all before <i>Vertigo</i>, and all great films.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Corby’s television career is another long story, but it took her from being Mother Lurch in “The Addams Family” to Esther Walton on “The Waltons,” a role she played in the series and many of the Walton’s specials. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYUW0Z4Wd72IAq2pZJoiyVCIJj03Ob8ZTHTg2S1YWsYXnpu3AMu830l94hO8iXeCr992AlNgA2YgqbGsHOTNX_0pgJaWGSIBd9eHPyDJH4anx39N9n2w-SG8OaH9uF_YKYnUsmq1HS2F4/s1600/Henry+Jones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYUW0Z4Wd72IAq2pZJoiyVCIJj03Ob8ZTHTg2S1YWsYXnpu3AMu830l94hO8iXeCr992AlNgA2YgqbGsHOTNX_0pgJaWGSIBd9eHPyDJH4anx39N9n2w-SG8OaH9uF_YKYnUsmq1HS2F4/s320/Henry+Jones.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Henry Jones</i></b> (1912 – 1999), shown at right, has 202 titles listed and is certainly one of the most recognizable Bit Actors in cinema.  He was born in Philadelphia, so I like him even more.  His first film was <i>This is the Army</i> (1943) starring George Murphy and featuring Ronald Reagan.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jones moved straightaway into television in 1950, and his second appearance on TV was with George Burns and Gracie Allen.  In the early days, television was considered a step down from acting on film, just as 50 years earlier acting on film was less desirable than being on Broadway.  Television appearances in the early days were much more frequent than movies, so all those kids (myself included) who were glued to the TV set until the next Saturday matinee at the local theatre would have the faces of those actors and actresses burned into their subconscious, only to resurface 50 years later and be written about on the Internet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jones continued making movies during his television work.  In 1957 look for him in <i>Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?</i> with Tony Randall and Jayne Mansfield, and then in <i>3:10 to Yuma</i> starring Glenn Ford, and of course in 1958 as the blue-suited coroner in <i>Vertigo</i>.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In 1969 we see Henry in <i>Support Your Local Sheriff!</i> with James Garner, and as a bicycle salesman in <i>Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid</i> with of course, Paul Newman and Robert Redford.  Later in his career he continues mostly on TV, but look for him in these great films –<i>Nine to Five</i> (1980), <i>Deathtrap</i> (1982), <i>Dick Tracy</i> (1990), and his final film <i>The Grifters</i> (1990).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRXBS3wXHr7L3XzXYOQjAIUxVcfxeOGZQeWNbgGPiup3DFH8vXSEOLLg9kVr_29x1feFhawFdHulBM44JXKXwGQDmkbmc1x6tqjwui3r8JawwoLORNhRMHeGik1B6kxbO5drwX60TbI2d/s1600/Raymond+Bailey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWRXBS3wXHr7L3XzXYOQjAIUxVcfxeOGZQeWNbgGPiup3DFH8vXSEOLLg9kVr_29x1feFhawFdHulBM44JXKXwGQDmkbmc1x6tqjwui3r8JawwoLORNhRMHeGik1B6kxbO5drwX60TbI2d/s320/Raymond+Bailey.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barbara Bel Geddes and Raymond Bailey</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Raymond Bailey</b> </i>(1904 – 1980) is best known as Milburn Drysdale on “The Beverly Hillbillies.”  However, that came near the end of his career of 146 titles that started in 1939.  His first dozen years on the big screen went largely uncredited.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Television again allowed Bailey to find good work as an actor, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that he had a regular role in “My Sister Eileen,” a show I have never seen.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the movies he has quite a long list, but many are forgettable films with second tier stars like Jock Mahoney, Jeff Chandler, and Tab Hunter.  He appeared in <i>Band of Angels</i> (1957) which came near the end of Clark Gable’s career.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1958 may have been his finest film year, with appearances in <i>Darby’s Rangers</i>, <i>Lafayette Escadrille</i>, <i>Vertigo</i> (a small role as Scottie’s doctor), <i>No Time for Sergeants</i>, <i>The Lineup</i>, <i>King Creole</i> and <i>I Want to Live!</i>  Quite a year for him, and for us.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then, more TV, more TV, and in 1960 <i>The Gallant Hours</i> starring James Cagney and <i>From the Terrace</i> with Paul Newman…and more TV.  Finally, Jed Clampett makes him a famous Beverly Hills banker and the rest is history.  His final films were <i>Herbie Rides Again</i> (1974) and <i>The Strongest Man in the World</i> (1975).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9Pqo-tB9eUheKe3jyjcXvGdjyxTw99SRppySMODeAeJndfAX7VTNt7xwhMZ437WBmFRfcWmFXmNG3qIjGeZ7HAwKB24xrTVuXnTx42YHrSFUJmg4xmpFH8rQs3BYyxd2a7sW6xhLi_Bd/s1600/Lee+Patrick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9Pqo-tB9eUheKe3jyjcXvGdjyxTw99SRppySMODeAeJndfAX7VTNt7xwhMZ437WBmFRfcWmFXmNG3qIjGeZ7HAwKB24xrTVuXnTx42YHrSFUJmg4xmpFH8rQs3BYyxd2a7sW6xhLi_Bd/s320/Lee+Patrick.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Stewart and Lee Patrick</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Lee Patrick </b></i>(1901 – 1982) was the lady who is mistaken for Madeleine at her car.  Her role in <i>Vertigo</i> was small, but it helped fill in some questions in Scottie’s mind.  Of course to me, Lee Patrick will always be Henrietta Topper of the television series “Topper” starring Leo G. Carroll as Cosmo Topper.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lee has 104 titles listed on IMDb starting in 1929.  Her first major motion picture, though not a starring role, was as Effie in the Bogart classic <i>The Maltese Falcon</i> (1941).  In a Hitchcockian (is that a word?) twist, her final film was <i>The Black Bird</i> (1975) and she played the same part.  I am sure that was a forgettable movie, where George Segal plays Sam Spade’s son, still looking for the elusive Falcon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In between those films you can catch her in <i>Now, Voyager</i> (1942), <i>George Washington Slept Here</i> (1942), <i>A Night to Remember</i> (1942), <i>Jitterbugs</i> (a not so great Laurel and Hardy film in 1943), <i>Mildred Pierce</i> (1945), <i>Vertigo</i> and <i>Auntie Mame</i> in 1958, <i>The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao</i> (1964), and a bunch of television.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurmNY6mg64YidLLBDYEGWscFSaVg1nVmsuFQ6LSwhQbaKGGL_TASknK0CkAlfrkdbYu_kfgm5hI1nxXyjOXHgdeNvii7t5h6TxL_LB6WxMpgfpW_7vSNg-DTn7b0sBBge9kwhcr9tYiF7/s1600/Tom+Helmore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurmNY6mg64YidLLBDYEGWscFSaVg1nVmsuFQ6LSwhQbaKGGL_TASknK0CkAlfrkdbYu_kfgm5hI1nxXyjOXHgdeNvii7t5h6TxL_LB6WxMpgfpW_7vSNg-DTn7b0sBBge9kwhcr9tYiF7/s320/Tom+Helmore.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom Helmore with James Stewart</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Tom Helmore</i></b> (1904 – 1995)  Even though Gavin Elster (the real Madeleine’s husband) was a focal point of the mystery in <i>Vertigo</i>, I must include Tom Helmore as a Bit Player in a supporting role.  He really doesn’t have much screen time.  But he has 72 titles on IMDb.  And he appears in two earlier Hitchcock movies, <i>The Ring</i> (a silent film from 1927) and <i>Secret Agent</i> (1936) with John Gielgud.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">There’s not much to write about in his other work.  Of note is an appearance in <i>The Tender Trap</i> (1955) with Frank Sinatra, <i>The Time Machine</i> (1960) with Rod Taylor, plus some good television work.  The last movie he worked in was <i>Flipper’s New Adventure</i> (1964).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxSLWBZeuJi9FqSZtiAXNwyoEJ5nyC29sv7wlTsZDo4QLIlLHgVXdLuMdJoqcslxIW0vBf6k__nFHrbnGPwjXiQNZGnCrcNdRoZh5-GXVM93HW0tam97KnHzbw5HcAOqW12CMttoi_9KV/s1600/Konstantin+Shayne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxSLWBZeuJi9FqSZtiAXNwyoEJ5nyC29sv7wlTsZDo4QLIlLHgVXdLuMdJoqcslxIW0vBf6k__nFHrbnGPwjXiQNZGnCrcNdRoZh5-GXVM93HW0tam97KnHzbw5HcAOqW12CMttoi_9KV/s320/Konstantin+Shayne.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Konstantin Shayne</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> (1888 – 1974), shown at right, certainly sounds like a Russian cowboy.  Shayne played Pop Leibel, the bookstore owner who fills in the missing story about Carlotta Valdes.  Again, a very small part but integral to understanding the plot.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Shayne has 49 titles listed on IMDb, starting in 1938.  His performances of note were in <i>None But the Lonely Heart</i> (1944), <i>The Stranger</i> (1946) and <i>The Secret Life of Walter Mitty</i> (1947).  You can also see him in small parts in a Bulldog Drummond film and in <i>The Falcon in Hollywood</i> (1944).  He appeared quite a few times on TV in the 1950s, and his final movie was <i>Joy in the Morning</i> (1965) starring Richard Chamberlain.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Y3AfJaikBnrsARN6ux8EQNBFA1OFSaIG6Vki-E4CqYM35mwyFREWgBanC1x5iqRlMDf5OhiA8wPAAC5b58aH4LP9qnRyBV1EUkNW_8LVmNUaT3XwKr5Ou7hy51UAGBmNGlWvqdgcYvCf/s1600/Margaret+Brayton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Y3AfJaikBnrsARN6ux8EQNBFA1OFSaIG6Vki-E4CqYM35mwyFREWgBanC1x5iqRlMDf5OhiA8wPAAC5b58aH4LP9qnRyBV1EUkNW_8LVmNUaT3XwKr5Ou7hy51UAGBmNGlWvqdgcYvCf/s320/Margaret+Brayton.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margaret Brayton and Kim Novak</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Margaret Brayton</i></b> (1907 – 1992) played the saleswoman in the dress shop that Scottie and Judy went to.  While it may not seem like it was important to have this scene in <i>Vertigo</i>, it does serve to highlight the extent of Scotty’s obsession with turning Judy into Madeleine.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">She has 48 titles on IMDb from 1934 to 1959, mostly uncredited, with maybe five television appearances.  Another of her other well-known films was <i>Who Done It?</i> (1942) with Abbott and Costello.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Molly Dodd </i></b>(1921 – 1981) was the beautician who also worked over Judy to recreate Madeleine.  I loved it when she told Scottie that she knew what <i>HE</i> wanted, as though everyone in San Francisco was tired of his fantasy.  Her 40 titles on IMDb include only four movies and <i>Vertigo</i> was her first.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIZO55b_hMuvy5ILSbXwr2SLsgc-TbN6Ybm7S0iCo0peoUoz-tMaF33v1_TaJQYbeu6qAAZDJZ2UUmZNvBz1L9nzxS_n9twCayZ78ykYufJ6FnDkvPQRAWUUWuGVkzEDpwbv-swCs4e1K/s1600/Molly+Dodd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaIZO55b_hMuvy5ILSbXwr2SLsgc-TbN6Ybm7S0iCo0peoUoz-tMaF33v1_TaJQYbeu6qAAZDJZ2UUmZNvBz1L9nzxS_n9twCayZ78ykYufJ6FnDkvPQRAWUUWuGVkzEDpwbv-swCs4e1K/s320/Molly+Dodd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Molly Dodd and James Stewart</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Look for Molly in many of the sitcoms in the 1960s.  In 1976 she was also in a few episodes of “The Waltons” with Ellen Corby.  Her last movie was <i>Harper Valley P.T.A.</i> (1978).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And finally, there are the cars…Scottie’s <b><i>1956 DeSoto Firedome</i></b>, Madeleine’s <b><i>1957 Jaguar Mk VIII</i></b>, and Midge’s (Barbara Bel Geddes) <b><i>1956 Karmann Ghia</i></b>.  I have written before about cars in cinema and I am sure there are volumes available on the topic.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmVkF3HvhBNrSZ9HQ6pvUUUG_Oe5wntukVEm939JIEkOruXTok2SMMc96VaMdXHmyq761NVg284gLK8HYXQBZ-gnq92ET2TpoX4gg5SLROfRCRRdcrtn-GTS_Cl5Q_neYlxIhnp6RpOPB/s1600/Madeleine+in+green+jag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjmVkF3HvhBNrSZ9HQ6pvUUUG_Oe5wntukVEm939JIEkOruXTok2SMMc96VaMdXHmyq761NVg284gLK8HYXQBZ-gnq92ET2TpoX4gg5SLROfRCRRdcrtn-GTS_Cl5Q_neYlxIhnp6RpOPB/s320/Madeleine+in+green+jag.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Madeleine' in her 1957 Jaguar Mk VIII</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The two main cars in <i>Vertigo</i> are more than obvious as plot vehicles  (Sorry!  I couldn’t resist).  They are as distinctive as the characters they belong to.  It was important for the cars to be instantly recognizable to avoid confusion in the film.  While Scotty is following Madeleine, you need to be able to pick out her car in the traffic.  You see it later at his apartment, and again after Madeleine’s staged death in the scene with Lee Patrick.  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is also interesting that the three cars match their owner’s personalities perfectly.  I can see each one of them picking out their car at the dealership.  Of course, it wasn’t the Kim Novak Madeleine who bought the Jag, but it would fit the real Madeleine’s station in society.  Scottie would be matter-of-fact in his purchase, buying a car big enough for his needs, with a powerful V8.  And Midge would have chosen her Ghia because it was so cute!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTj2o_4VJP_jK0fG_HTyXF8pzoToYUriPZKpuVPgFv_dE-zUkcki_ZuQPXNMT3CSPos8MTA9FUoDhEmK4C0XSfCgBMHUbS0UNkvSlTVx8dHiRb2Pr5YKwRO33VscPFDuqIusXlIn5qWmTM/s1600/Midges+Ghia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTj2o_4VJP_jK0fG_HTyXF8pzoToYUriPZKpuVPgFv_dE-zUkcki_ZuQPXNMT3CSPos8MTA9FUoDhEmK4C0XSfCgBMHUbS0UNkvSlTVx8dHiRb2Pr5YKwRO33VscPFDuqIusXlIn5qWmTM/s400/Midges+Ghia.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">'Midge' in her 1956 Karmann Ghia</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hitchcock thought of everything, right down to the cars.  His penchant for perfection is showcased in <i>Vertigo</i> and its excellent cast of Bit Actors.  And I’m sure you’ll agree that these parts helped make <i>Vertigo</i> the great classic film it is.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Many thanks to Eve for hosting this month long tribute, and to all the other writers who have put so much effort into the project.  I hope you enjoy every entry.  And please stop by my <i style="color: #990000;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1165593110" style="color: #990000;">Bit Part <span id="goog_1165593107"></span><span id="goog_1165593108"></span></a><a href="http://bitactors.blogspot.com/" style="color: #990000;">Actors</a> <span style="color: black;"></span></i>blog for more great profiles.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">~</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>Allen Hefner</b> of </i>Bit Part Actors<i>, the blog he launched in May 2010, is from Pennsylvania and has been interested in movies from an early age. He recalls attending Saturday matinees at the Keswick Theatre in Glenside, PA, every Saturday of his youth, “when 50 cents bought you a two reeler (usually The Three Stooges or Laurel & Hardy), a few cartoons and a feature film.” Allen is a member of the famed Laurel & Hardy fan organization, <a href="http://home.earthlink.net/%7Esons_secretary/" style="color: #990000;">The Sons of the Desert</a>, and has, over the years, met and enjoyed the company of many film buffs and performers of days gone by including Margaret Hamilton, William Windom, Penny Singleton and others - as well as Stan Laurel's daughter, Lois, and </i>Sons of the Desert<i> founder (and cartoonist) Al Kilgore.</i></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuSNbYZlKY1BikJfcsUG5dyumissZhgxhCEsE_2UFxBkaU7j4Qb_9yXhyphenhyphenbvigmbAucfoEjRSGSFOoQ0hJ01fhhN58Jax-v6RdzmuJuf3E3POAjnhIKrpdTu2-4H886CLPT2UCBW-lLjk/s1600/Bit+Part+Actors+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFuSNbYZlKY1BikJfcsUG5dyumissZhgxhCEsE_2UFxBkaU7j4Qb_9yXhyphenhyphenbvigmbAucfoEjRSGSFOoQ0hJ01fhhN58Jax-v6RdzmuJuf3E3POAjnhIKrpdTu2-4H886CLPT2UCBW-lLjk/s400/Bit+Part+Actors+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i></i></span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: black;"></span></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div></div>

A Month of Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock Allen Hefner Ellen Corby Henry Jones Konstantin Shayne Margaret Brayton Molly Dodd Raymond Bailey Tom Helmore Vertigo VERTIGO, the Bit Players

by guest contributor Allen Hefner Kim Novak with Tom Helmore in Vertigo A movie as incredible as Vertigo (1958) is a collaboration of many ...

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