What is new in our lives? I don’t care for when a red truck rams our bedroom wall. I am really tired of packing and unpacking. Hopefully, this last one was the last time.

What have I been doing all this time? I’ve been really busy getting more information to write about. There are joys of painting, carpet laying, more medical information to share on things like HIPAA, other medical things that make you scratch your head, funny kid stuff, amazement at the lack of common sense in some, and other general stuff.

Also, you know who your friends are during tough times. Those who are cruel or fake being nice really bare their fangs and attack even more. Those who are buang or walay batasan really show it.

Other things I have done is developed a dislike of the Bee Bomb plant. It is a pretty but evil plant. Speaking of plants, we now have enough space indoors to have plants everywhere inside. I may not be able to enjoy the warmth of the Philippines here but having a tropical jungle indoors is close enough for me. More lucky bamboo and papaya plant please haha!

You’ll get some photos of those in the future to track how they grow. You’ll also be seeing other samples of my photography collection. If you are looking for personal photos of my family and I, you won’t find them. Gotta stay away from paparazzi haha feeling noh?

I know some of you are wanting more personal details of my life. So I’ll give you more inside information right now.

I’m still no closer to being 6 feet tall. I still have black hair. I now live in a place that is colder. Anyone who tells me global warming is true is going to get a virtual kick in the rear to wake them up. Letsugas, It’s going to snow tomorrow!! It isn’t even the middle of October yet!

Oh, you probably wanted even more details than that. Well, I will share them with you. Are you ready? Okay, here it is…

Call me at home. If you don’t have my phone number, then there is a reason for that.

If you really, really, really want a phone number to call, then give a call to this number (323-281-9412) and I’ll get back to you.

Ahh life is beautiful! Enjoy your weekend!

Live well and make it a great day,

Anah

credits from edmunds.com

I know, I know. It has been a long time since I last updated my blog. Have I given up on my blog? Nope. What has been going on? Keep reading.

1. I’m really sick of moving. But after a long, drawn out distance move that is highly beneficial we are down to unpacking the last box. If you are curious as to what “highly beneficial” means, email (nyo ak0) me directly.

2. I have successfully defeated an evil virus that infected my computer. However, the cure was as bad as the disease and I lost access to all programs that had Microsoft in the title. Given the age of the computer and additional tech issues, it was time to upgrade.

3. I finally have this new computer up and running with everything needed for blogging and daily life.

4. I hope winter has finally ended and spring has begun.

5. I will be disabling comments on my blog as the ignorant trolls and spammers have returned.

6. I have given the new occupants of the White House enough time to show what we can expect. My assessment is Barack and Michelle are making Ferdinand and Imelda, along with Gloria, look like the most superior national leaders in the history of the world.

7. My assessment of the current batch in the US Congress is they are doing an excellent job of making the current Philippine legislature look like the equivalent of Senators of Rome when the empire was at its peak.

8. If you are a troll who doesn’t understand that comparison, you might want to brush up on your world history and current world events from the perspectives of others and not just your little world as defined by you. Degrees are not required to read and learn. But then I might be overestimating the reading comprehension of trolls as evidenced by the posts the are trying to leave.

9. Here is a concept for those trolls to chew on. Try reading the US Constitution and the words of the Founding Fathers, particularly James Madison who is the author of it. Try focusing on Article 1, Sections 8 & 9 and the 10th Amendment. From there you will find that the bailouts and the “stimulus” bills are not within the power of the US Congress to authorize and spend money on.

Translation: If the State of Virginia wants to build a transit system in Norfolk, Virginia, then it is up to the government of Virginia to generate the funds for such projects for Virginia. It isn’t the responsibility of Hawaii, Alaska, or Wisconsin to fund it from a loan against the future earnings of our children for your selfish wants. Also, if you want to try and justify a rationale for you, the citizen, being derelict in your duties of holding your elected officials responsible for their oath of office which is to support and defend the Constitution, it won’t work on me. Selfishness is one of the core causes of many problems in the USA. How do I know this stuff about USA History? My daughter’s 2nd grade curriculum is the answer. This isn’t rocket science.

10. Declaring that I am prejudiced, biased, racist, or need American Values, demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge of the English language and logic. All you are saying is the 4-yr-old playground logic of “I’m right, you’re wrong because I said so. If you don’t agree with me, then you are bad.” i.e. You are trying to be a bully. I kick bullies where it counts. Do I have a “bias” or a “prejudice”? Yes, I do. I expect the elected officials to honor their oath of office and support the Rule of Law and not the whims and feelings of the mood of the day. The Laws, those enforcing them, and those obeying them should be relatively easy to predict and follow. What they shouldn’t resemble is a woman during PMS yelling at her hubby for chocolate one moment and mango encrusted tilapiang isda (fish) the next.

11. Now trolls – Here is your reading comprehension test. Feel free to leave comments.

Salamat po sa pag basa,

Anah

The challenge has been thrown down to answer a series of questions regarding the discipline of a child. If you are a regular reader, you will probably not be that surprised of our answers. If you are not, get ready as this will likely not be the normal set of answers. In this challenge, there are six sets of questions which will be noted in bold. Our answers will be beneath them.

When do you start disciplining your child? Is there even a “right” age to start discipline?

For us, disciplining our child started before she was born. Actually, the discipline started several years before she was even conceived. Each of us knew from the examples in our lives that we had to be in the right positive mind and self-disciplined to be the proper role model for her before she was born. To try and figure it out after the child is here means you are playing a game of catch up. They start learning from you immediately.

How do you teach your kids right from wrong? How do you instill your rules?

The most important part of teaching our child what is right from wrong is in how we live our lives. We are their role models. Our work ethic, habits, word selection, behavior, how we treat each other and everything else will be merged together to form her personality. The rules in our house are simple. They are always tell the truth, always respect others, do your share of the work, and have fun. Since our children are looking to us on how to be a sibling, daughter / son, and a spouse as well as a parent, it is on us as the adults to live our lives right with all others in our part of the world. They will do what we do.

Additionally, we always remain alert to the teachable moments of life. When we all take note of how a child or adult is behaving in public, we will share with our daughter if it is a positive or a negative behavior.

What do you do if your child breaks the rules?

Our two specified rules are for us the parents.

Rule #1 — All must smile always and laughter every day. This is setting the tone in the home. Life happens but we control our attitude. Also, there is no medication for a rotten attitude only self-correction.

Rule #2 — Anything we do our children can do because they are going to do what we do. If we punish a child for doing what we do, then we lose the right to be respected as we are being hypocrites. Having this unconditional love and respect in the household makes the greatest form of punishment being the disappointment in who you let down.

When our child does do something wrong, our first goal is to find out why and what was her influence. If it is because of something we did or she copied something we did, then we are the first to apologize. Humility is an important tool and it reinforces respect, honesty and trust. When we find out the reasons, then our actions are to correct that behavior and explain why in an age appropriate manner.

How do you feel about spanking?

Spanking is something we do not do as we have no desire to instill fear in our child. However, each of us messed up in our childhoods and got it once or twice. I skipped the spanking on the rear and escalated to the bamboo switch on the bottom of my feet. In hindsight, I deserved it as I could be a brat at times. So we are neither for nor against it, but we do not use it.

Who is the disciplinarian in the family?

This is debatable. I could be the harsher one as I am more prone to emotional outbursts. I am human and sometimes a particularly bad day at work of lots of whiners combined with arthritis striking or that time of the month or stressed out due to illness in my family back in the Phils puts my fuse a little shorter. I do apologize later after my hubby has calmed all of the emotions. However, he is tougher and stricter. He says he is trying to be the velvet hammer. I really need to read that book.

How do you feel when other people (teachers, grandparents, uncles/aunts etc.) try to discipline you kid?

If you raise your child right, this is not that much of a concern. The teachers are a non-issue as we homeschool our child. We could not stand the values taught by the public schools nor the behaviors she was learning from other kids. Grandparents, uncles, aunts and the rest are within their right, especially when visiting their homes, to say something when she does not stick to their house rules. It is a matter of respect. Usually, it is either goofing off at the table or not picking something up and putting it away.

Okay, enough for now as this is likely one of my longest posts.

Thank you,

Anah

P.S

Please check the PBBC 7 here.

Of the top 5 reasons why parents choose to homeschool their children is because of socialization. Here are a few questions to ponder:

1. Being unsocialized would require the child and parents to live in a place where there are no people to come into contact with or to socialize with. How many homeschool parents and kids are hermits living in the Himalayan mountain range? None, they live in the cities like you and me.

2. Since most homeschooled children live in places with populations ranging from 50-10,000,000 people, wouldn’t it be rather obvious the child will be forced to interact with other people?

3. There are places called the park and the library.

4. Girl / Cub/ Boy Scouts, church groups, Sunday School, or any team sport are not an exclusive public education only but they include all children.

5. We have these silly people in our lives that go by a special term. Neighbors.

6. So what would you call it when lots of homeschooled kids get together weekly for an event or preplanned meeting?

7. Do children really need to be subjected to peer pressure to do drugs, sex, and be part of the “in-crowd”? Or would a child be better off tackling those issues after they have matured and are well grounded in who they are?

8. What does going to the Prom mean to life outside of school except for having an expensive dress that you’ll never wear again?

9. Since when is having to discipline your child for bad behavior picked up from other kids a good thing?

10. Perhaps some parents want the responsibility to raise our children with a solid value system and not have some Curriculum Director force the values of insulting Christianity, programming you to be materialistic, selfish and valuing the opinions of murderers, rapists, torturers and slave traders over Civics, the Founding Fathers, morality, respect and honor.

I could go on but I probably do not need to at this point. Those who homeschool do so because of a variety of reasons with the leading two being the failing of the public schools and the desire to have our children learn how to socialize in a constructive way.

Thank you,

Anah