RagTraderVintage

Retro and vintage inspired jewelry is always in style, but it can be hard to find.  There are many knock-offs out there, but few places actually offer accessories that are artfully crafted and affordable.  Ragtradervintage.com has several pieces that are affordable, and unique.  I particularly love their romantic, yet rock-n-roll love bird earrings.

The brass love meter necklace is perfect for any girl on the go who just wants to express how she feels.

I also love the unique Alice in Wonderland feel to the brass monacle and telescope necklaces.

These accessories are sure to be conversation starters, if nothing else, and the prices are a steal.  There are pocket watch necklaces, rings, earrings and cufflinks in so many styles, one could literally spend hours deciding what to choose.  Art Noveau may be a reminder of times past, but everything old will be new to someone and this company has absolutely captured that spirit.

Follow this White Rabbit to Rag Trader Vintage to indulge your fancy for retro, vintage, classic accessories.

Hangin' on the Line

I woke up to R.L. Burnside See My Jumper Hanging on the Line this morning and it brought to mind all the things that I've got, "hangin' on the line."  I'm a writer, a mother, a teacher, a friend, a sister, a lover and with all of these roles comes some responsibility and something more that I'd always like to do.  Some say, the best way to feel complete is to finish what you start, and I would agree with that without hesitation.  Though, I do believe it is much easier said than done.  How does one organize a life full of starts and very few finishes?  We're entering into the holiday season which is always a wonderful time for me because there is a lot of laughter, love and family around.  I'm hoping to get a few days of rest in to catch up on some of those things just hangin' out there so that I can take a more powerful stance in my life and feel more on top of things.  I'm curious to know (if I do have any readers) how do you organize your life?  How to do you take care of those things that are just out there floating in the breeze and remaining unfinished?

A student of mine came to me the other day feeling helpless and lost.  Her assignment was to write about what she is grateful for.  She wrote about life in its infinite sadness and how she feels helpless to help those around her who are suffering and in need.  I noticed her tears, and the fact that she was dressed in all black, and we sat down to have a little chat.  At first, she didn't want to open up, but once she did, it was like a tidal wave of emotion flowed from her into the hallway between locker rows.  We talked about how to take control of the small things and how to begin doing little things to help those around you.  We can't have all of the solutions all of the time, but we can lend a hand to someone in need and do small things to ease their burdens.

My co-teacher and friend introduced me to the book, "Why Good Things Happen to Good People."  I plan to read it in the coming weeks.  Though the motivations might be slightly selfish (of course I want good things to happen to me) it looks to be a promising read. I'm hoping to encourage more good to come into my life and to get rid of all the insane, bad, draining elements that keep me, "Hanging out on the Line."

Breaking Dawn

When dawn broke the morning of November 18th, 2011, I could barely open my eyes.  Why?  Well, if you know me at all, the answer is obvious.  I was up the night before until 3am indulging my love of all things Twilight at the local Harkins Theaters Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 movie marathon.  It was everything I hoped it would be, with swag bags, VIP lanyards and all-you-can-eat popcorn and drinks.  I had an amazing evening, but not so amazing day-after.  I should have slept on the day that I took off just to recover, but instead, I used the day to take kids to school, take my daughter to the airport, catch up on bills and other business and throw a dinner party.  Boy did I regret the decision not to sleep when I found myself down for the count for the rest of the weekend.

Today, I can't say that I regret my decision to stay up until 3am wallowing in Twilight bliss, but I can say that I am pretty pleased with the way the movie turned out.  The art direction was stunning.  The characters and story-line were way more intense than they have been in any of the other movies.  The plot was precisely what I remember reading in the books, and I was surprisingly happy with the ending.  I won't offer up any spoilers here, but for those people who haven't seen it yet, it is a must see.  I believe this series will fall right in there with some of the other most famous movie series of late, ie: Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter.  I think it will be immortalized right alongside its main characters, because some stories never loose their appeal.  Its hard to imagine a day when an everlasting love between opposites becomes un-interesting.  I mean, isn't that the appeal of Romeo and Juliet?

Though my daughter won't be going to see this latest installment of the franchise until she's much older, I think the stories do a good job of introducing people of all ages to what it means to truly love yourself.  All of the characters learn to love themselves, and part of that love includes seeing themselves through the eyes of another.  Stephenie Meyer did an amazing job and though I would not say the books have the most flawless writing ever, the story is perfect in its ability to be extremely personal and universal simultaneously.

I snuck home after the midnight premier and spent a few hours reading the end of Breaking Dawn again, just to quench my thirst for one more year until the final movie comes out and I have to say, I don't regret one moment spent reading those books.  I hope the last movie is as impressive as this first one was and I have a feeling it's going to be.  I also can't wait for the boxed set to come out so that I can watch them all with my little girl once she is old enough to appreciate and understand them.  I have heard lots of criticism of Bella and the franchise, but I believe they are both imperfect, beautiful and flawed, just like most of us and that, to me, makes them ultra relate-able.

"Quiz? What Quiz?"

I gave a quiz on The Kite Runner to my Seniors today and I found it particularly funny when a student said, "Quiz? What Quiz?" Of course he was joking, he just wanted to get a rise out of me, and he did (for a quick moment). In talking to another student, he mentioned that he read about six chapters of the book and then stopped because he, "can't read." I said, "Well, there's something wrong with that. You're in 12th grade. What are you going to do in this world if you can't read?" He then went on to talk about how it wasn't that he couldn't read, but he just couldn't read assigned books. I really thought about what he said because he's absolutely not the only kid I've worked with in recent years who feels this way. There is something happening in our society that keeps children from engaging in literature which hinders their ability to be critical thinkers and active participants in this world.

 Is it the lack of necessity? How often do kids need to read an entire book? In my day (which I hesitate to say, because it wasn't that long ago), we had to read to get the information and we had to have reading skills to be successful in school. We had to be successful in school to keep from being held back. Now, kids are no longer held back. There are SparkNotes (where there used to be Cliff's Notes) and summaries all over the place. Basically, what do kids actually have to read to be successful? There are studies all over the place that argue against whole-class novels, stating that they stifle creativity and kill motivation. However, whether the child chooses the book or has it assigned, won't they have to read it cover to cover in order to "get" its content? I would argue that video games (many of which are very similar in nature) have a greater appeal for many of our kids (especially males). But why? Why will a 17 year old throw away a college education to spend days playing video games? Is it the virtual-reality? Is it the physical engagement (which, isn't really much more than pushing buttons when you think about it). What is it that keeps our youth from reading, enjoying and thinking critically about literature?

 Many kids who attend our district's technical education center argue that traditional education just isn't for them any longer. Are we then deliberately creating a blue-collar working class to serve the ever shrinking white-collar upper class? Why do so many kids no longer value a college education? I think I partially know the answer to that. America hasn't changed much about the way we educate kids in the last century, and its been taking its toll for the last thirty or forty years. Many Americans (including my beloved partner in life) are able to get by just fine and maybe even better financially than those of us with huge amounts of college debt.

However, what would happen to our society if we were able to give every child a college education for free? Wouldn't that serve us well in the long run? I have friends in Iceland, Norway and Germany who have spoken to me about the pros and cons of their educational systems and if nothing else, at least they can say they've tried it another way. What do we have to lose? I have tried to include cell-phones in my lessons and engage students with Poll-Everywhere, blogging, Ani-Moto, Prezi and other web-based assignments, but something tells me we are not changing fast enough. I fear for the day that I will hear a child say, "Book? What's a book?" in answer to which I truly won't know what to say.

Right now this is the No.1 selling book on Amazon.com.  It's at a 7th grade reading level.

Do Something!

I've recently begun watching Grimm, the supernatural detective series on NBC.  It's actually pretty good and with the recent lack of quality sci-fi programming on major TV networks, I am grateful for anything fresh and original.  I particularly like Joss Whedon and anything that he's involved with after seeing him at Comic-Con San Diego in 2010 and watching him via the internet at Comic-Con San Diego 2011.  I thoroughly enjoyed the pilot and all its surprises and I'm looking forward to seeing how the series will progress.  Who doesn't like a show with a lead character by the name of "Grimm" being chased by creatures called, "Reapers"?  I suspect there's plenty more in store for us due to the history of many of those involved in the show's production.

Moving on, the beautiful, amazing daughter and I sat down to watch episode two and during a particularly surprising fight between a werewolf and a bad guy, she shouted, "Do something!  Don't just let him beat you up!"  Then, the werewolf (aka good guy) did something alright, he ripped off the bad guy's arm!  I don't think either of us was prepared for that.  Her mouth dropped open so fast and so wide, I lost my cookies and began to giggle uncontrollably.  I did consider the fact that it's debatable whether she should be watching scenes like that.  In my defense, I just wasn't quite prepared, and my response (rather than covering her eyes) was to break into hysterical giggles.

What do I like about this little episode?  I like that she showed some spirit and thought that the good guy should defend himself.  I like that my daughter, though sassy sometimes like her mama, shows spunk and I trust that she will someday be a strong woman in her own right.  My colleagues that know her say that she may someday be, "a force to be reckoned with."  I absolutely believe that, because she asks the right questions.  She thinks critically already, and she wants to be a thoughtful, altruistic individual. What more could this busy mother want?

Today, a kid said that he stopped reading The Great Gatsby because he didn't understand it.  I asked him how he expected to understand if he didn't keep trying and just gave up.  I hope that my daughter will never be one to just give in.  And, based on many things I have seen her do and heard her say, I believe I can say that she will always fight the good fight and do something rather than give in and do nothing.  The world needs more youth who take responsibility for their lives and make an attempt to own their future.  I'm keeping fingers, legs and eyes crossed that my daughter will be among them.

How many fairy tale princesses were heroines as well?  Think about it.

Baby Tigers, Injured Hawks, and Puppies. Oh my!

Today was a total fail at the gym. The intent was to go get my Hatha yoga on, but alas, this wasn't meant to be. I arrived a full ten minutes early at Lifetime Fitness to find that the class was full. Sad. Day. So, I sat down at my favorite exercise machine and selected a program that I thought would suit my needs. Typically, I'm a multi-tasker and I like to get several things done at once, as mentioned in, "Yoga Frame of Mind."  This time, my touch-screen wasn't working, captions weren't available on the channel I selected, and my phone died just as I was about to load up my tunes on Slacker Radio.  So, what's a girl to do?

I pedaled, and pedaled and pedaled.  After about twenty minutes, I realized the reason I had yet to break a sweat.  I was on level two.  Level two is about as pathetic as it gets.  The only thing more pathetic is level one.  So, I kicked it up a couple of notches, as Emeril Lagasse would say, and got ready to, "go hard" at level three.

I am a huge fan of Ms. J from America's Next Top Model, so I loved it when he made an appearance on Real Housewives of Atlanta.  Watching him tell it like it is really helped me unwind, relax and sink into my 40 minute pre-programmed workout.  When my BFF showed up at the gym with my daughter and her little munchkin, we walked them to the daycare center and, after many trips to the women's locker room to retrieve water bottles, ID cards and headphones, we headed upstairs to the bikes again where I found out some truly shocking information.

Apparently, some individual in a brown and white van tried to abscond two children from my daughter's school!  BFF and I talked about it as we cycled vigorously at level three and I was so sad to hear that my fears are founded.  The world is, sadly, every bit as unpredictable and scary as I didn't realize it was when I was my daughter's age.  BFF works in social work, so she's totally dialed in to things potential abductors might say to small kids.  When she told me to have the conversation with my little one about not getting into a van with someone who might claim to have a baby tiger, injured hawk or puppy inside, I burst into nervous laughter.  WTH?!!?  I am going to have to be thinking outside the box and hyper vigilant if I want to protect my little ones from the big, scary world out there.

Then again, maybe a simple, "Don't talk to strangers," will suffice.

Would anyone really have this in the back of their van?  I don't think so...

Times They are a Changin'

I absolutely adore the Holiday Season.  Images come to mind of falling back into bed when I realize I have an extra hour, cute little snowmen with whatever we can find for buttons and a nose, and the cookie crusted smiles of my children on Christmas Eve.  However, one thing I do NOT like about the current time change system is trying to get back to normal in the Spring.  Man does it suck to stay up late, as we tend to do in the winter, and then find that you have to get up (and struggle to get sleepy kids up) an hour earlier the next morning.

I actually found out a few years ago that Arizona doesn't even participate in the time change rule.  I suppose I understand, given that they have so many hours of sunlight already, but California surely has more sunlight than Arizona, right?  Then, there's the whole bit about Indiana.  The residents in that state must have a hell of a time during the winter months with eighteen counties on Central time and the rest on Eastern time.

This brings to mind our public school system and the fact that we still give summers off.  As a teacher, don't get me wrong, it's a huge shift in my sanity, frame of mind and happiness when I realize that Memorial Day is around the corner.  However, does it really make sense for our students to stay out of school for three months in the summer when they are academically behind the rest of the world?

I believe the original idea was for children to have the farming season off to help their families cultivate and harvest crops. This totally made sense for the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when we still had somewhat of an agrarian society.  Today, I'm sorry, but it doesn't make a lot of sense.  I won't bore you by going into the sordid details of my classrooms and the general lack of preparation, manners, initiative and, for that matter, brain power, exhibited by the majority of today's cyber brain-addled youth.  Instead, from someone who is in the trenches every day, let me ask you to trust me (and Matt Damon), times need to change.