The Wrong Idea

       Sometimes we eat things that we don't even think about. There are parts of our diet that we try to cut down on calories and then there are other parts of our diet that we just eat absent-mindedly.

       A good example of that is breakfast. Many people have cereal and milk for breakfast. It is just part of their routine, but they don't even realize what their eating. Many cereals are not natural and contain many preservatives. They are also sugar-loaded. In the last few years, what used to be fat in our diet is now sugar. In the 60s' and 70s', Americans diets were loaded with fat because it made the food rich and as a result, food was delicious. In the 80s' there was a huge turnover where people realized that fat was probably not the healthiest thing to put in their bodies. Companies started making fat free foods, but there was one problem--the food was missing much of the flavor that once was there. To replace the fat, sugar was added to our food and we now have a diet that is very high in sugar. There are healthy breakfast cereals out there, but the breakfast cereals that actually taste good are the one that say they have nine grams of sugar in one serving. One serving is only about half a cup and that is not enough food for the average person to run their day on. Most cereals actually about twenty grams of sugar, which isn't looking very good. Almost all breakfast cereals, including the healthy ones, are fortified with vitamins which do no good for your body because all the nutrients that were originally in the ingredients, were destroyed in the process of shaping the cereal. Cereals also contain high amounts of GMO products, which cause food allergies, liver problems, fertility problems, etc. So I'm sorry, but that cereal you use to jump start your morning really isn't the healthiest choice. 

        I have a list of food that people think are good for them, but I'm only going to list two today, for sake of time. I might continue this post some other day.

        It really bothers me when someone says to me that their choice of drink is healthy because it is sweetened with an artificial sweetener. It isn't healthy. The negative affects of drinking diet soda are much greater than the negative affects of drinking soda sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. There is a link between diet sodas and Metabolic Syndrome, depression, and preterm delivery, all of which are much worse than weight gain. Diet sodas might also lead to Type II Diabetes. I do not want any of those things, so I'm just going to stick to water.

a nEW wAY to cAPILIZE

i HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED WHY LOWERCASE LETTERS ARE LOWERCASE AND UPPERCASE LETTERS ARE UPPERCASE. i REALLY DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR TO THE LOWERCASE LETTERS. bECAUSE YOU'RE LOWERCASE, YOU CAN'T FEEL SPECIAL TOO. i THINK SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE ABOUT THAT.  i AM GOING TO WRITE LIKE THIS AND APPRECIATE THE LOWERCASE LETTERS TOO.

A Nut That Doesn't Have to Be Deadly

     Peanuts are not actually a tree nut. They are a legume. A legume is a plant where we eat the seed, and/or pod of the plant such as beans, peas, and soybeans. It is interesting how about 25-40% of children with a peanut allergy often also have a tree nut allergy even though the two are not related. This could be because peanut and tree nuts are usually manufactured with the same machinery in the same factory.
     Seventeen years ago, about 0.6% of children had a nut allergy. That means for every 1,000 people, six of them will have a nut allergy. Now, 3.1% of children have a nut allergy. That means for ever 1,000 children, 31 of them will have a nut allergy. The issue keeps increasing and there are only theories to why.
     One theory is called "hygiene hypothesis."  This theory states that children who are not exposed to germs and other harmful substances in the early stages of life are more likely to negatively react to harmless substances such as pollens, nuts, etc. This also explains why this is a problem in middle to upper class Americans who's hygiene is monitored very closely, especially when they are very young. 
     This is by far the prevailing theory. Children in the past didn't take baths or showers every day, played in the dirt, and did not use antibacterial soap. Parents are very paranoid about their children attaining a cold or other disease. Children also use antibiotic medicines more often then they should. This weakens the immune system and builds resistance. In short, we need to make sure our kids are exposed to healthy amount of germs and pathogens. Then we will not have the problem we have with allergies in general.

Writing by Numbers

     I love to write and in my creative writing class, we were working on a project called "Writing by Numbers". I chose four number and from those numbers, my main character, a setting, a trigger, and a time was chosen. I received a teacher in another dimension, during Christmas Day and something unexpected has started to move. Here's the story I wrote with that. 

Oh, I hate Christmas parties. It’s just an excuse to celebrate. Back in Wonderland, we didn’t need excuses.

We had just finished the meal and are now moving on to dessert. The other teachers and their families are drinking coffee, but not tea. Only strange earth people would drink dreadful beverage. People should drink tea.

“Holly, we’re so glad you came!” My colleague, Linda, said in a sugarcoated tone. All the other teachers hate me, but they feel bad because I don’t have any other family. That’s why they invited here for Christmas. I’m like the unwanted realize that someone has to invite. They pass me around.

“Well on Easter, I do hope to invite you to my place. I feel like I’m always intruding on your lives,” I cackled.

“Oh no,” Linda insisted. “You’re fine. I do love having you.”

“We can have tea and everything,” I continued. “Speaking of tea, do you have any?”

Linda went to bring me a cup of tea, but it was only boring, regular tea. So I pulled a cup of tea out of my hat and starting drinking.

________________________________________________________________

The next day in class, the children were annoying me by being very loud.

“Would you like to take a visit to the closet?” I hinted as sweetly as possible to a student shouting “21”.

“No ma'am,” the boy responded rather frightened. I certainly know how to quiet a child. My first few years of teaching, I was the perfect teacher. I didn’t yell or burn children ever. But then, I broke down. I opened the closet, where the magic happens. I decided that the bad children simply deserve to live. And so I started burning them. I always keep the first child I burned in a nice, neat jar on my desk.

“Um, Ms. Bublitz, the rulers are starting to move, on their own,” a student in my class sputtered.

“Well maybe the Wonderland magic has finally started to seep through the portal,” I suggested.

“Ms. Bublitz, that’s a storybook,” corrected a policy debater in the class

“Oh, but you see, the whole book is all true. Alice In Wonderland is actually narrative nonfiction book. You can use it for our next unit. Okay back to the point. A long, long, long time ago, it must have been twenty, no, twenty-five years by now, I lived in Wonderland. Everything was amazing and crazy and Wonderlandiful, but then gruesome things started to happen. The world became less crazy and I went to earth to find the cause for this mayhem. I think one time, the White Rabbit was early to the tea party and another time, the Mad Hatter didn’t bring any tea to a party. Now, here I am, twenty-five years later, having done nothing to help,” I sighed.

“What can we do to help?” persisted one of my more helpful students.

“Well the portal needs to be closed up, but first, it’s more important that we find the cause for the disease that is currently killing my beautiful Wonderland,” I instructed.

So we set off. I had seven, very willing students to help me (in my class there were actually 30, but the rest were just being teenagers who may look like they care, but deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down really don’t care).

“We should start with a trip to Wonderland,” offered Cynthia, a girl with wavy, black hair that perfectly framed her flawless skin.

“That would certainly be a start, if we knew where the portal was. You see the portal changes places every week, and so it’s slightly difficult to find,” I remarked.

The portals kinda hard to miss. It’s rainbow and covered in glitter, but it is found in the most inconvenient places.

Several days of searching for the portal went on. But we have one slight interruption. One of the student’s, Hattie’s, mother had decided that what we were doing was very destructive and should not be taught in our good American schools. She even brought in the state. The government told me to forget about this nonsense and just teach. So we had to be secretive. Now I only had two children to help me, Cynthia and the boy.

We planned for weeks and then finally we were ready to go on our search. We left New York in the dead of the night, except the fact that there really is no dead of the night in New York. We set off for the portal, which had decided to place itself in the middle of a seemingly unreachable African Savannah.

We took a plane and then drove to the closest city. The rest of the expedition would have to be on foot.

Words cannot describe the agony we felt as we made the arduous, fifty-mile journey across the rugged terrain. We didn’t bring enough water and there wasn’t any along the way. We were almost dead from dehydration when we reached the portal.

The portal was much smaller than I expected. You see, every month, only one jump can be made. The portal this month wouldn’t allow more than two to pass through its opening. Either me and one of the children or just the children will go into Wonderland.

“Only two of us can go,” I stammered. I wanted to see my Wonderland, but then one of the children would die and I knew I could bear that. The way Cynthia looked into Matthew's eyes is why I made my decision. It’s their turn. Mine is over.

“Go,” I sobbed.

“No, Ms. Bublitz, you go. We went on this expedition for you,” Cynthia insisted.

“It’s your turn to live. Your life is laying right out in front of you,” I persisted. “Jump...now.”

As Cynthia jumped, she clasped Matthew's hand so tightly that it left marks. The two seemed to fall forever. It was easier for Cynthia to just close her eyes than to look at the sides of the portal. It was giving her a headache. After what seemed like hours, they finally reached the bottom. Instead of the “eat me” and “drink me” chiche bottles you think of with Wonderland, it was completely dark. Thankfully Matthew remembered to bring his iPhone to light up the entrance. After looking around for a while, the children found that Wonderland was the same as always, just dark.

The two experienced Wonderland over the next few months, even though it was difficult to see. No one in Wonderland seemed to notice the lack of light though. They went about life as if it was normal, as if they could see in the dark.

After a few months had passed, Cynthia noticed that a resident of Wonderland, one she had always read about, was missing--the Cheshire Cat. Matthew then suggested that they search for the cat. In those days, not all of Wonderland was a happy and Wonderlandiful place. There was one dark and boring place, the House of Rules. Found in the very center of Wonderland, it was by far the most ordinary and wretched places of Wonderland. Old myths stated that once you enter, there was no going back.

“Where might we find the Cheshire Cat,” asked Matthew, who was very curious to the Queen of Hearts.

“Well, the Cheshire Cat left six--off with his head--years go in pursuit of the destruction of the House of Rules, and hasn’t been seen from since,” answered the Queen.

“I guess we’ll just have to search it,” Cynthia assured.

So they left and found that atrocious place. It looked like an abandoned orphanage, with peeling gray paint and stiff rose bushes out front.

“Time for destruction,” declared Matthew. “I brought the matches.

“Do you just want to burn it,” questioned Cynthia.

“Hell yes!” shouted Matthew.

The inside of the house looked no more inviting than the outside. On strictly embroidered cloths, thousands upon thousands of rules hung on the wall. They searched the downstairs, and found nothing. Upstairs though, they found the closet. Matthew carefully opened the door to find an elderly lady sitting inside.

“Follow the rules,” she barked. “Or else...death.”

The two were horrified, vivid memories of Ms. Bublitz’s closet flooding into their minds.

"Matthew, drop the match,” Cynthia screamed. He hurriedly pulled a match out of his pouch and lit as quickly as he could.

“Run,” commanded Matthew.

As the house burned, Wonderland became filled with burning light, but Wonderland was very heat resistant. The light continued to spread until the whole land of Wonderland was full of light. This filled every creature of Wonderland with joy. But in their haste, the children had forgotten something--to put the fire out. The light spread to the portal and through the hole that seemed to go forever. Earth couldn’t the heat of both the light and the sun, so it burst into flames. The people of Wonderland were overjoyed because they would not have to deal with the strange earth folk who found the portal and jumped.

“We did it,” Cynthia remarked.

Because time goes so much faster in Wonderland, for it goes so much faster in Wonderland, it is another dimension, Matthew dropped to one knee.

“Cynthia, will you marry me?” Matthew asked very sincerely.

“Ye--,” Cynthia started to vow, but before she could finish, the Queen of Hearts strolled by. The Queen of Hearts commands beheading quite a bit, but most of the time, they are directed at no one in particular. She just wants to say that phrase. This was one of those times.

“Off with your head,” she ordered. The minions unfortunately took this order to mean Matthew, so the chopped off his head.

“No,” wailed Cynthia. “Kill me too.”

So Cynthia was beheaded also and that was the end of both Cynthia and Matthew, as well as all the other humans that lived on the earth. Ms. Bublitz would have been so proud.

A Waste of Time

     This is around the time of year for the standardized tests to be taken. As you probably already heard, many states took over "common core standards" which were written by the federal government. Actually all but four states took over these standards, though Minnesota only took the English language arts standards (ELA). Three states withdrew from the standards in 2014. According to the Banger Daily News, "Common Core opponents cite a litany of concerns about the standards, ranging from overzealous expectations of students at lower grade levels and failing to challenge older students to complaints that the federal government shouldn’t be determining state education standards." 

     As a result of these harder standards, harder tests are given. In New Mexico, we are giving what is called the PARCC test. I do think that students need to be tested to make sure they are living up to the standards for their grade level, but the amount of testing we are doing seems a bit excessive. This entire week at school, we are spending the majority of the time giving these exams. We have five sessions that are given, each of them timed. This isn't really an issue because you are allowed too much time to finish a particular section. Part of the reason these tests are taking so much learning time is because they are computerized and our school does not have enough computers to test all 600 of our students at the same time. The school also has to be very quiet while we are testing, so classes can not go on while the other grade is testing. 

     New Mexico is having a problem with students walking out and protesting the tests. The tests really aren't that difficult, but they have several errors. We don't even see the results for another seven months and by then they don't mean anything anymore, so there really isn't a point to taking the tests. Also, the tests take so much class time away, considering the fact that we take a progressing PARCC test and then two weeks later, a end of year PARCC test. I really think these tests are pointless and a waste of our time.  

My Fear of Spiders

     My sister-in-law-to-be once posted on her blog about her fear of spiders so I thought I'd do the same. I don't really know why, well I kinda do, but I am petrified of spiders. No I am not afraid of most other bugs, but if they're big, why would I not be afraid of them. Just saying. But spiders are another story. I hate them! They're so ugly and big, well most of the time. 
     Every summer, I spend some time in Tennessee where they have a lot spiders. The first two days are very hard. My aunt lives on a lake with spiders everywhere. Thankfully many of these are small and easy to deal with after I am used to them. But there are some big ones. You can tell the size of the spider by the size of the scream. I can scream very loud when they're very large, but when they're small, I kinda screech. It's really funny. One time there was a spider that was probably two inches long and you could hear me scream three houses away ( that's just a guess). I wouldn't go near the dock for at least a few hours, which is a long time. 
     I think this very irrational fear came from when I was little. I live in New Mexico and we have Black Widows, which are just creepy for they're own reasons. I mean how could you eat your husband. Well anyways, in our backyard we this wheelbarrow, In the wheelbarrow a black widow colony decided to build their nest. There must have been hundreds of black widows. I still remember this memory very vividly. That's probably why I'm scared of spiders. 

The Shocking Ingredients in Hot Dogs and Other Processed Meats

     I think that people would not eat just anything if they knew what was actually inside of it. Take hot dogs, for instance, they have some shocking ingredients.
     I always read the labels on foods before I buy it and one of the main ingredients in mechanically separated poultry. That doesn't sound too bad. Just machines instead of humans separating the chicken. But in my research, I found that these machines actually crush the meat as well as the bones into meat. Yum...calcium. I do not actually like being treated like a dog, but if you do, go for it.
     Other ingredients in hot dogs include pork and beef. If it is not labeled as mechanically separated, do not fret, you are not being fed dog bones. But...almost. The companies scrape the bones to as raw as possible to attain as much "meat" as they are able to. I do not want meat scrapings in my food!
     Sodium Nitrate is a preservative that they claim increases your chance of a heart disease. It's one of those things that they're telling you it's terrible now, but in five years, it couldn't be better. It's kinda like butter. In the 20th century, all you ever knew was butter is bad for you, eat margarine(don't eat margarine). But now they say butter is so good for you that you could eat a stick a day. Okay, that might be a tiny bit excessive, but you understand my point. 
     Even though they tell you to check your labels, not everything is on the labels, which could create a problem. Sometimes ingredients are simply listed as natural and artificial flavoring, or flavor, or spices. What a person is allergic to a very specific spice? Are they supposed to avoid all foods with "spice" in them, or just wing it? Well I guess that depends on how allergic to that spice you are. 
     So now you know. When you see that hot dog, don't reach for it. It's not worth the anatomy. 

2015!!!!!!!

      I love the new year even though I can never remember to write it on the date. An old saying says that each new day is a day without mistakes, but to me, it's the year. It's difficult to forget other's shortcomings after just a day. If you can, I applaud you. But a year...well that's a different story. My New Years Resolution was to not care about what others think and to forgive other, as well as not eat any mushrooms, but that's just an excuse so I never have to eat mushrooms(gross).  
     But a new year is not only about no mistakes--it's about the time that is passing. Some people wish to slow down time, while others, such as me, wish to speed up time. But, as my math teacher puts it, doesn't care about what others think. It will always be the independent variable. So time will go on at the same rate as it always had. While we wish we could control it, there are very few who would actually want the responsibility of time. Time controls everything we do. From cooking to working to hobbies, it's all about time. You see, time controls us and there is nothing we can do about it.
     So as each new year passes, you can make lists and plans and resolutions to correct the mistakes you have made in the past. Through this, you might have a better year than your past year. Happy 2015!