ZOO ATLANTA

    My family and I went to Zoo Atlanta on Sunday of this week and had a wonderful time. The best part of going to the zoo was that it was free. We had a one day family pass given to us from the Adairsville Library. The Bartow County Library System and Zoo Atlanta work together through a program called Zoo Atlanta Pass. The program is aimed to educate people on the history of Zoo Atlanta and encourage visitation to the zoo. This is achieved by checking out the Zoo Atlanta DVD from any Public Bartow County Library.

The Zoo Atlanta DVD tells more than the history of Zoo Atlanta, but also the dangers facing many animals today, which encourages people to visit the zoo and learn the best way on how to support these animals. After the Zoo Atlanta DVD is checked out for a week and returned, a free one day pass for Zoo Atlanta is given, which can be used within one week. The pass is good for two adults and two children under the age of twelve. The challenge with checking the DVD out, is finding it available due to the program's popularity. My family and I enjoyed watching the DVD and found the challenge well worth it.

The zoo was extremely crowded on Sunday when my family and I visited. It took four and half hours for us to see all the animals and you could not take a step without bumping into another person. I'm not complaining, only stating how busy it was. Our trip to Zoo Atlanta was a first time event for our youngest son Trevor. Trevor loved seeing all the animals in their natural habitat. He especially enjoyed watching the monkeys and Gorillas. The monkeys were active and showing out by swinging from one tree to another. We saw a baby gorilla caress his mom's arms and during this time Trevor caressed his older brother's hair. His older brother Gavin found this amusing and said, "Trevor is a monkey." We all had a wonderful time and saved around sixty dollars because of the Zoo Atlanta Pass Program. I recommend residents of Bartow County to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

 

Native American

    Tonight in my English 1101 class at Georgia Highlands, I am presented with a beautiful picture. The picture is of a tall Native American statue. The statue is covered in vibrant yellow feathers and clothed with detailed beaded symbols. The Native American statue stands in front of a white rundown building. I asked myself if the statue has age on it and what is the history behind it. I believe the statue was designed with care and pride due to the detail workmanship. The figure of the statue shows strength with its arms stretched high and bold colors arranged through out it. As I look at this remarkable piece of art, I am reminded of a statue that I helped create. In 1999 I was a senior at Cherokee High School and took art as an elective. My teacher was Ms. Stone and she enjoyed having her students participate in group activities. Ms. Stone began an ongoing project my senior year and wanted all her art students to be part of it. We carved a totem pole from a log that went in length of about eight feet. Ms. Stone encouraged each of her students to get involved and "leave their mark, a piece of history behind". I was thrilled to help in the carving of the totem pole because I knew the totem pole would become school history and I was a part of it. The group I was assigned to have the task of carving an eagle and I shaped the wings. At the end of my senior year, over half of the totem pole was carved. The totem pole started at top with a Native American head which was crowned with feathers and continued down with animal symbols. I'm not sure, but I believe it took the entire following year to completely carve and paint the totem pole. After the totem pole was finished it was placed outside in front of the school, representing the pride and history of Cherokee High. In recent years, a new totem pole has been created by Cherokee High students and now stands where the old one did. The old totem pole was encased and placed inside the school so it may be preserved. I do not know if Ms. Stone is still teaching at Cherokee High and who is continuing to carry out this tradition, of history in the making, but I take pride, knowing that the totem pole stands proudly in the hallway of Cherokee High School, with the history of former art students yearning to "leave their mark, a piece of history behind".

HEART HEALTH

    Since the year began I have been reminded on how important the heart is. In January I lost a neighbor to a massive heart attack. My neighbor Clyde was in his mid-sixty's and in good physical shape. I've seen Clyde out walk me in our neighborhood, which is why I am surprised by his sudden death. This raises the question, is heart health achieved through diet and exercise alone. I know the effect of smoking is more work on the heart, but how about stress.

    We all at one time or another experience stress, if it be physical or emotional. When does stress cross from beneficial to detrimental for our wellbeing? I do not know for certain but I imagine if one of the effects from stress is high blood pressure, then you have crossed over. High blood pressure makes the heart work harder and just like smoking it needs to be removed from your life style for overall health.

February is Heart Health Awareness Month and last week my son brought home from school a fundraiser for The American Heart Association. The idea behind the fundraiser was to give in honor of anyone with heart related problems. I donated in honor of my mom who has heart disease. There are many underlining factors to heart disease and to name a few are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and family history (genetics). Our life style of diet, exercise, smoking, and stress all contribute to these factors.

Saturday, after reading about Whitney Houston's death, I reflected on how much our lifestyles contribute to heart health. I do not know for sure her cause of death but I can't help to think her life style played a role. I am saddened by Whitney Houston's passing and know there will never be another voice like hers. She was only forty-eight and had so much more to give in life.

This week I was able to give back to my community and it warmed my heart. I may never know if a person can die of a sad or lonely heart. I do know for me that having a cheerful and loving heart is beneficial to my heart health. My prayer is that each of you will take care of your heart physically and emotionally. God Bless!!!

 

 

Balancing Act

February is the shortest month and for me, the busiest. I have my birthday to celebrate on the twelfth, Valentine's Day on the fourteenth, and a wedding anniversary on the twenty-fifth. My husband, Andy and I will be celebrating nine years of marriage. The key is that we don't jumble each of these special occasions into one. My husband celebrated his birthday towards the end of January and our youngest son, Trevor celebrates his second birthday next month. Thank goodness, our oldest son, Gavin has a birthday in June, which gives us some time in between, to plan parties!

I will turn thirty-one this Sunday and I find it harder each year to keep track of everything. Monday through Thursday I attend evening classes at Georgia Highlands College. I leave home around 6:00 p.m. to get to class on time, which is dinner time at our house. My mother -in- law, Elaine is staying with us temporally and if it was not for her we would not have dinner on these nights. Gavin has Cub Scout meeting on Tuesday and bible study on Wednesday. Between Andy, Elaine, and myself we make the schedule work and as for the housework it never ends…I did mention I have children, right?

Andy and I keep Valentine's Day simple, no flowers or jewelry required only chocolate and lots of it. I usually gain an extra pound or two around this month and did I mention Gavin's annual Valentine's Day party at school. You can imagine what type of food I'm eating at that party; cookies and more cookies.

Nine years of marriage is special and I look forward to celebrating it. Andy and I will most likely celebrate our anniversary with a date night due to our busy schedules. We plan on taking a trip for our ten year wedding anniversary. Where to? We haven't decided yet. I do know one thing; as a couple Andy and I balance each other out!

 

 

Troubles…

I debated with myself on what I would write about this week. I have had a very trying week and honestly I would like to vent about it. At the same time, I do not want to bring any one down or encourage others to have pity for me. I decided to go against the idea of writing on my life troubles, until earlier today when I was reminded that troubles are a part of life. We all face life problems at one time or another and I believe it is therapeutic to talk about them. I owe this reminder to the inspiring saying from Robert Frost, "The pleasure of taking pains". These five simple words brought me so much insight to the pains I have encountered this week. I will begin telling my sad story, by asking this question. How much do we rely on money to bring us happiness? For me, money has never been the center focus for my life. Overall I am content with what I have and take pleasure in the free things of life; like time with my family and the outdoors. With this being said though, I do believe having money can eliminate certain stresses from our life. How many of you are familiar with the dreaded situation of a broke down vehicle? My husband and I are all too well familiar with this scenario. Last Tuesday morning, my husband's truck will not start when he leaves for work. Being the good wife that I am (: says," borrow my car for the day". Needless to say, a week later today, my husband is still borrowing my car. Going back to last week… we had his truck towed to our local mechanic the following day of it breaking down. Three days and seven hundred dollars later, his truck is ready to be picked up. Saturday morning, my husband leaves the mechanic shop with his truck. Before he can get to work on the same day of picking it up, the truck leaves him stranded along interstate 575. His Ford is transported back to the shop free of charge. We are informed a few hours later that an over looked two hundred dollar truck part is broken. "Labor is free", the owner of the shop says. The parts are replaced that day and listen to this: it still will not start up!!! Another overlooked problem you ask. Yes. The electrical box is fused incorrectly; making it the initial cause, for the trucks new expensive parts to not function correctly. I could go on, but I will keep it short and tell you what I learned from this experience. First of all, we will not be returning to this local mechanic shop. Secondly, having extra money would take stress off my husband and I. The electrical box repair is estimated to be costly; more so than the nine hundred dollars already put into the truck to supposedly fix it. Lastly, I tell myself "this too shall pass." There are worse things in life to happen. I am not going to let everyday troubles of this life, keep me from enjoying the everyday moments of this life. In other words, the pain I receive from the sorrows I encounter, I will accept with pleasure because it goes hand in hand with the joys to happiness.