Field Day - My Other Life!

Want to know about my other life as an ham radio operator? Come by and visit me at Field Day.

This weekend, June 22 and 23, bring your kids to Field Day where they can talk to ham radio operators and even talk on the radio themselves! This is a chance for both you and your kids to learn a bit about electricity and communication, talk to some storm spotters, and find out about a fun hobby, ham radio. It's crazy fun!  

Field Day is held all over the country. You can log on to the ARRL site (http://www.arrl.org/field-day) and find one near you. 

For those of you in the Tulsa area, my club (Broken Arrow Amateur Radio Club) will be setting up mobile units and antennas at Asbury Methodist Church (in the field by the garden center) on Mingo and 71st Street. There will be tents, motor homes, and trucks with equipment set up and ham operators talking. Just walk around, come on in and take  a tour. Very informal. We will start operating from 1pm Saturday through 1pm on Sunday (24 hours of continuous operations). Come by and say hi and talk on the radio! You might even get to talk to someone in China or Australia! 

I'll be there for sure from 4pm to 7pm on Saturday. Not sure about other times. But you can go anytime. All these folks are very friendly and love to show off their "toys!"  

Article Published - God's Big Blue Supermarket

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine just published my article, God's Big Blue Supermarket (June 2013). This was a fun article to write as I directed it more to students. My goal was to help them see the value of our ocean and its inhabitants.

You can read the article in its entirety on The Old Schoolhouse Magazine website, along with other excellent articles written especially for home educators.

I hope yo enjoy it!

TV Interview

Today, I was interviewed on Channel 17 here in Broken Arrow, OK. They are doing a series on education, so they asked me to answer questions about homeschooling. I followed the Superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools. I'm not sure how they will show these segments, but my segment will be shown on June 21 at noon.

I am definitely NOT Ophrah Winfrey, but I did make it through. Interviews are NOT my favorite thing to do. In fact, I usually turn them down. Some people speak; others write. I prefer to write! However, I agreed to do this one as I wanted to share the benefits of homeschooling as well as get the word out about my website and my tutoring at Cornerstone.

I was interviewed by OETA (local PBS station) several years ago; however, I was not the main subject. They interviewed me for over an hour, but only used one or two minutes of what I said!

The only other time I was interviewed, I thought was the most fun. That time it was by Good Morning America and it was a story about going back to college at an older age. They followed me around campus all day and ended up a five minutes segment. I still have photos of that one on my Empty Nest Mom Goes to College Blog. I notice that Wordpress is now putting ads on my ENMGTC blog, so I should probably take it down. I just hate to lose those memories. :(

So that's my three claims to fame. I don't think I will quit my day job for TV!

My Dog, Oreo

I don't write much about my pets on this blog. I mostly do that on Facebook, but I thought it was time to share a little bit about Oreo with my readers on here as well.

I have always had cats, outdoor farm dogs, or dogs that were someone else's pets, so I never really thought much about dogs until I got Oreo. In truth, I was looking for a cat. My husband and I had recently lost our cats and had decided we would not have any more pets so that we would be free to travel. Well, that didn't work out. My dear daughter, Shelly, brought over a beautiful black and white kitten and it began all over again. Bill fell in love with the kitten and named him Bullet, thus ending our freedom from pet sitting problems. But Bill was happy, so I got over it.

Now, the problem was that the kitten was lonely; so, I went out and got the kitten a friend, Felix. Now, we have two cats. All was well until I realized that the 2nd kitten didn't like me, or anyone else it seemed. It was Bullet's cat. So, I decided to get a third kitten that would be MY cat. I went to every rescue place and pet shop in town looking for just the right cat. Then, I walked into the Humane Society and saw a crate of Shitzhu-Jack Russell puppies. Yes, I walked out with a puppy instead of a cat and fell in love!

Oreo has become my 3rd child. I've never had a relationship with a pet like this one. She practically worships me and follows me everywhere. I take her with me everywhere I can. We go to Bass Pro Shop, Southern Agriculture, Pets Mart, walks in the park, day trips around Oklahoma. Bill and I have found restaurants that allow her on the patio, like Leon's on Brookside or Uncle Bucks here in Broken Arrow. We found that La Quinta will allow her to stay at no charge and even has a special courtyard in OKC with walking paths and "cleaning stations."

I have even taken her on assignments with the idea that she would stay in the car with Bill while I did the interview, but it always worked out that the person I'm interviewing allowed Oreo to tag along. She's been on a Pontoon Boat at Lake Tenkiller, a guest at the Chisholm Trail Heritage Center in Duncan, OK, and even got to stay in a lake cabin with me! My son, who babysits her when we can't take her with us, took her to a painting festival where she got to paint with her paws! This dog has more adventures than some kids!

So the bottom line is that I'm now a dog person. I still love cats, but this dog has stolen my heart.  Now I know why old people love their pets so!

Update on Tutoring

I have 34 students signed up for classes this fall so far. We have another registration in August, so I will probably get a few more.

Now, it's time for me to get to work. I am teaching a few fun classes for elementary students this year: a class about electronics and another one on Crime Scene Investigations. In addition to those, I will be tutoring elementary writing and Oklahoma history, as well as my usual middle and high school composition and Biology.

My daughter, Shelly, will be tutoring with me this year at Cornerstone. That will be fun! She is just about finished her Master's Degree in English and has been an Adjunct professor at Tulsa Community College for the last year as well. She will continue that, tutor a few classes with me at Cornerstone, and also tutor for another local co-op. This is such a joy for me to get to work with my own daughter at the same school!

So this summer, I will be working on lesson plans and tutoring students in math and English. I also have several magazine articles to finish up before school starts. It will be a busy Summer!

Open House Today

Today was Open House for parents interested in sending their kids to Cornerstone Tutorial Center next school year. I don't know how many came as we were all in different rooms, but I was pretty busy all morning meeting new parents and students. 

I'm pretty excited about this coming year as I'm adding some new classes for grades 3-6: Crime Scene Investigation, Electronics, Kids Can Write and Oklahoma History. These will be fun classes that will also sneak in a little math, science, government, composition, history, etc. 

The other wonderful thing that happened today is that my daughter, Shelly Downes, joined us at CTC. She is currently working on her Master's thesis and finishing up her Master's Degree in English from Northeastern State University, and she is also an adjunct professor at Tulsa Community College teaching Freshman Composition. In her spare time (ha!), she is going to teach a college prep composition class at CTC, as well as a creative writing class. It was really fun, today, introducing her to my students from last year. Shelly was homeschooled from K-12th grade, and I'm very proud of her. I know the kids will love her.