Cassie’s World

Yes We Can...And Yes We Will. Hope springs eternal. Now the journey begins.

Today was an historic day. For some, it meant the possibility of a better economy. For others, it meant that their loved ones will may come home sooner from abroad. For African-American families (of which, mine is one), it means a little more.

There have been African-American judges, congress-men, Senators, etc. For the first time, ever, there is an African-American President of the United States. Here is what this translates to. America is still the most powerful country in the world. The leader of that country is the most-powerful person in the world. African-Americans have gone from being slaves less than 200 years ago to having one of us hold the most-powerful office on Earth.

I tried to teach the girls some of what this means and what today’s activities were all about. I think it is going to take a few more evenings of going over this for them to understand. They need to understand what those who have come before them have done to make this happen; what people are doing today that will help them in the future; and what they can do to help themselves achieve any and every dream they have.

I just bought Cassie some glasses less than six months ago.  Today, so kid threw a ball at my daughter’s face on purpose and broke her glasses.  Now, I have to deal with making the kid’s parents pay for new glasses right at Christmas time.  I feel sorry for that kid, if the parent’s have not shopped for him yet, but, not my problem.

I gave Cassie a questionnaire that instructed her to complete the beginning parts of old sayings.  Here are the results:

• It’s always darkest before…lightest
• Never underestimate the power of…craziness (that’s daddy)
• Don’t bit the hand that…feeds you
• No news is…good news
• You can’t teach an old dog new…tricks
• Love all, trust…none
• The pen is mightier than the…pencil
• Where there’s smoke there’s…fire
• A penny saved is…a penny spent
• Don’t put off till tomorrow what…you were supposed to do today
• There are none so blond as…man
• Children should be seen and not…see
• If at first you don’t succeed…try try again
• You get out of something only what you…put in it
• Better late than…early

A couple of these had me rolling…

I'll take this over tattoos and piercings any day...

I guess Cassie got ahold of my camera and decided to take some pictures of her toes.

I brought the girls some Rubik’s Cubes from work. They promptly scrambled them, so I had to help them find instructions on how to get them fixed. Here is what I found.

The girls and I had a great 4th. We spent the entire day together. I wrote about the entire experience over on johnasimpson.com.

Technorati Tags: 4th of july, independence day, fun, six flags, girls, swimming, hurricane harbor, family

Someone at work sent me an email about this little girl that has a brain tumor. Here is an excerpt from the web site her family has set up:

On January 7, 2008, our lives were changed forever when our 10 year old daughter Emily was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in her left thalamus. Emily’s brain tumor, a pediatric low grade astrocytoma (PLGA) is the most common type of childhood brain tumor and yet, has historically received little, if any, dedicated funding or research. Consequently, there are few treatment options available, and those that are available are invasive, toxic and mostly ineffective.

Emily is determined to change all this and she has set her sights on raising $1 million to help fund PLGA dedicated research by December 31st, 2008. We, her family, have partnered with The Pediatric Low Grade Astrocytoma Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) charity (founded in August 2007) to help raise money for dedicated PLGA research with a goal of developing kinder, gentler and more effective treatments, AND a cure, for the thousands of PLGA children around the world.

I do believe this to be true. Please visit Emily’s website, www.colorforacure.com. You can buy a pixel of color for just one dollar. Each dollar – every cent – goes to PLGA research, and each pixel is added to a picture which is gradually completed as the goal of a million dollars is approached. You can make a difference in a child’s life, and make sure you tell a friend!

It's nice to see them working together for a change...

The girls put a smile on my face tonight. We went to the library and they happened to check out the same book. I went to get gas and when I got back in the car, Alex was reading out loud. After a bit, Cassie started reading out loud and Alex stopped. It turns out, they were each reading a page of the same book.

By: C Swarens

Even though cats are fairly hearty and healthy, they do require some basic care. This includes looking after their emotional health as well as their physical well being. With just a little bit of practice, caring for your cat can be enjoyable as well as rewarding.

Surprisingly, caring for your cat includes more than buying canned cat food. Cats can and do eat vegetables and grains, but require meat to live. Although you will rarely catch them choosing non-meat based foods, they may enjoy a little bit of vegetable broth mixed in with their food. You should try to keep cats away from house plants known to be poisonous, as they can and will take a mind to chew on them. Caring for your cat may also include obesity management. Because cats cannot tolerate fasting, it is best to take your cat to a veterinarian to seek help with feline obesity.

Caring for your cat also requires certain immunizations. For the most part, rabies, feline distemper, and heart worm inoculations should be kept up to date. You may also want to have you cat immunized against feline leukemia, but many veterinarians feel this is as an unnecessary and risky decision when caring for your cat. There are also immunizations available to help manage fleas and upper respiratory infections.

Unless your cat is a kitten, hairless, or advanced in years, it will want to be outdoors. If the cat is healthy, you can purchase insulated houses that will suit most environments. That said, if the weather is very cold, or there is going to be a lot of snow, caring for your cat may involve some time outdoors looking for it. You should still do what you can to bring your cat indoors. That said, caring for your cat if it is feral will always involve a risk of injury, loss, and theft.

When considering how to go about caring for your cat, it is also important to consider how they will get along with other living things in the home. Among other things, cats usually do not like to share what they consider as their personal space with other cats. As a result, their subtle behaviors may be enough to drive one or more cats away from the home. In other cases, they will fight in order to establish territorial dominance. It is also important to note that some male cats will kill kittens. Therefore, if one of your female cats has a litter, it is best to isolate them from the males until they are weaned.

Finally, when caring for your cat, you must also consider its emotional well being. If they are indoor cats, and do not have an opportunity to hunt and play, they will need some attention from you. While they can keep themselves busy with toys, they still need social interaction with another cat, or with people in the home. Cats that are not getting their emotional needs met will do any number of things to get attention. This includes defecating outside of their litter boxes and behaving in an insecure way. When in doubt, it is best to take your cat to the veterinarian to see what is going on.

There is no question that properly caring for your cat will result in a loyal, wonderful companion. They will provide you with hours of comical activities to watch, as well as a companion whose purring can reduce even the worst stresses. A cat’s quiet charm and affection are prized by those that recognize it as being more than comparable to what dog owners have with their pets.

Author Resource:-> CS Swarens is the president of Find a Pet Online. 800 998-7065
For additional information on dogs, cats, birds, horses, and exotic pets visit the internet’s pet resource including pet classifieds at http://www.findapetonline.com
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