Crescent City California

Crescent City California on the fourth of July is one of the best places on earth.  Crescent City is located in northern California on the coast a few miles from the Oregon border.  It is located in the beautiful redwoods (the tallest trees in the world) and is a small town filled with great people. We camp there every year for the fourth of July and it is such a relaxing getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city life. There are plenty of camping spots or you can stay in a hotel or motel. There is great dining and plenty of attractions as well. Trees of Mystery is a few miles away, home of the famous Paul Bunyan and his blue ox babe.  Undersea world is located in crescent city on the wharf and for a small fee you can take a tour, pet live sharks, starfish and sea urchins and watch a seal and sea lion show.  Down on Front Street there is a wildlife sanctuary where you can see baby seals and sea lions that are recovering and waiting to be released back into the wild. On Front Street there is a great indoor pool, it is called the Fred Meyer pool. They have a heated pool and a waterslide. About a half a mile down the road is a beautiful lighthouse that you can get to when the tide is low and you can go inside to explore. Everywhere you look there are sea urchins and starfish to pick up and play with and large ground squirrels who have decided showing off for humans is a quick way to get fed. They will actually climb in your lap and eat the food you give them.  The air is clean and the streets are not crowded. The people are friendly and welcome you with open arms.  On the fourth of July they have a great parade and the entire town gets involved, I know because growing up I was in it every year.  They parade through the streets for over an hour throwing out candy to all the kids and then everyone goes down to Front Street for the festivities. They have live bands, great food, face painting, helicopter rides over the Pacific Ocean and lots of dancing. It is just a great family event and a wonderful break from the busy southern California lifestyle.

Blog entry week 12

I found the book fast food nation to be very interesting to say the least. I think most of us know some of this stuff. We just choose to act like it doesn’t really happen. I found many parts of the book disturbing. I never realized how many people were affected by something that seems so normal to us.  Fast food restaurants have ruined many people’s lives. Yes I believe we all make a choice to go through that drive through, however it has been made so easy for us. The cost of eating out at these unhealthy fast food restaurants can often be much cheaper than getting healthy food from the store and cooking at home. I do not think it is the fast food companies fault entirely, yet they do have to share some of the blame. If your best friend is an alcoholic and they are trying to quit drinking and you offer then some alcohol and tell them everything will be fine, are you not somewhat responsible? A good person would not put that temptation in front of them. Yet we have a fast food restaurant on every single corner.  After reading this book I am definitely more aware of what I am putting in my body and I do not eat out nearly as often as I did. I hope as a country we can all learn to be healthier so we can live longer and have happier lives.

Blog Entry 11

Blog entry week eleven

The truth was… I have been swimming in the ocean on the shores of Japan.

How is the semester going for me? Well it has been tough. I have quite a bit of stuff going on at home and we are trying to have a baby so school is becoming harder than expected. Lots of bed rest doctor’s orders and most instructors don’t seem sympathetic to the situation so I have just been doing the best I can. I have a husband who is in the navy and he is very busy, and on call at all times. I have three kids ages from 12-15 and they keep me very, very busy. I have college full-time and quite a bit if duties at our church as well. I love to be active. However with all the baby stuff it has become difficult. My husband and I have had over five miscarriages and are considered very high risk so my doctors are very strict on what I am allowed to do at this point. I am however still determined to finish this semester and make the dean’s list again as I did last semester. The payoff for me will be obviously my degree and transferring to a university. Most importantly showing my children that dreams do come true and no matter your age or the length of time you have been out of school, you can still accomplish anything you set out to accomplish. My children and my husband are my motivation for my success. My children are always asking how I am doing and we are always comparing grades, I have always taught them that C is average and they are not average. So I expect more out of them. I myself have to live up to those same standards as well. My husband is in college at a university and we are always in a competition over who has the better grades. That keeps me motivated because I like to win.

5 Lies and 1 truth

1)      I have six children.

2)      I have been swimming in the ocean on the shores of Japan.

3)      I used to be a dancer.

4)      My husband is ten years older than me.

5)      I was adopted.

6)      I have a baby corn snake.

Favorite movie and song

Here is a link to the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w5s6V8rQH4

hopefully it works, I have never done this before.

Lyrics provided by http://www.kovideo.net/

Source

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

 Played in the movie mannequin

-Artist: Starship

-peak Billboard position # 1 for 2 weeks in 1987

-Words and Music by Diane Warren and Albert Hammond

Lookin' in your eyes I see a paradise

This world that I've found is too good to be true

Standin' here beside ya want so much to give you

This love in my heart that I'm feelin' for you

Let 'em say we're crazy I don't care about that

Put your hand in my hand baby don't ever look back

Let the world around us just fall apart

Baby we can make it if we're heart-to-heart

And we can build this dream together

Standing strong forever

Nothing's gonna stop us now

And if this world runs out of lovers

We'll still have each other

Nothing's gonna stop us nothing's gonna stop us now whoa no

I'm so glad I found you I'm not gonna lose you

Whatever it takes I will stay here with you

Take you to the good times see you through the bad times

Whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do

Let 'em say we're crazy what do they know?

Put your arms around me baby don't ever let go

Let the world around us just fall apart

Baby we can make it if we're heart-to-heart

And we can build this dream together

Standing strong forever

Nothing's gonna stop us now

And if this world runs out of lovers

We'll still have each other

Nothing's gonna stop us nothing's gonna stop us ooh

All that I need is you

All that I ever need

All that I want to do

Is hold you forever forever and ever

And we can build this dream together

Standing strong forever

Nothing's gonna stop us now

And if this world runs out of lovers

We'll still have each other

Nothing's gonna stop us nothing's gonna stop us

Build this dream together

Standing strong forever

Nothing's gonna stop us now

And if this world runs out of lovers

We'll still have each other

Nothing's gonna stop us now

And we can build this dream together

Standing strong forever

Nothing's gonna stop us now

And if this world runs out of lovers

We'll still have each other

Nothing's gonna stop us nothing's gonna stop us

Starship - Nothing's Gonna Stop us Now (Mannequin) LYRICS

I have a friend named Rose. She is in her thirties and is married with two children. One of her children is mentally disabled. She has been married for fourteen years. When I met Rose I thought “this family is white trash” and never planned to associate myself or my family with them. Rose is not a very clean person and I on the other hand have OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) with cleanliness. Rose did not celebrate her children’s birthdays with parties and their clothes were always worn and never fit. Rose did however have a nice car, and her husband drove a new Shelby mustang.  When I moved here I did not have many friends and still don’t, but she was kind to me and welcomed me into the neighborhood. Over time I got to know Rose and realized that she had a terrible marriage. Her husband cheated, he mistreated the children and treated her terribly as well. This made it even harder for me to be her friend. You see I am a very outgoing, assertive type person and looked at her as being weak. As I came to know Rose I learned she had a terrible childhood. Rose was abused sexually and physically and mentally growing up. She grew up in a home with very little money and little involvement from her parents. I slowly realized this life was all she really knew. Abuse was normal to her and because she did not have nice things as a child, she didn’t think her kids should either. Rose had a large family and had two brothers that were mentally disabled and they were never given any special care, so she did not know her son would need that extra care. As time went on I found that Rose had a HUGE heart and was willing to do just about anything for anyone, (which was part the problem) and was a great person. I was able to teach her to be stronger although she is still with her husband, she has made a huge improvement in her ability to speak up when she feels something is not right. Rose has taught me more than she could ever know. I judged her before I gave her a chance and she turned out to the BEST friend I have ever had in my entire life. She is so positive and always sees things in a good way. That is something that took me almost thirty years to accomplish. I looked at her as weak when in reality she has always been strong, sure we still parent differently and I would have left her husband years ago; but Rose taught me that even though life can really suck and it is not fair, you can still see the world as a good place and still trust people. She also taught me one of the most important things in life, not to judge someone before you give them a chance. Had I went with my initial thoughts I would have never met the greatest friend I’ve ever known.