Orange Belt

in da houze!!!

Yep, the Karate Kid PASSED HIS TEST.

He will receive his temporary Orange belt on Wed. night. Apparently the teacher has to order the official belts. As the teacher had promised, not everyone passed. As soon as we saw DS's name on the Promoted list, we both started looking for another kids name that we knew would be VERY upset if he didn't pass. Sure enough, NOT on the list. A few minutes later the kid and his mother came into the room, checked the list and immediately went off. The teacher had to take the boy & his mother outside to speak to them. They ended up taking 15 minutes of class time talking to the teacher while one of the brown belts took over and started the class. The teacher explained to the boy & his mom that he hadn't Failed, he was going to be re-tested on certain points he was weak on. The re-test will be May 19th. JOY...for the next month we get to listen to the mother complain about how some kids passed that she KNEW weren't as good as her boy. The sad thing is that the boy has some "emotional issues"..reminiscent of a former "Step son" and watching him is always painful as he struggles to stay on an even keel. I personally think his mother has some issues too but that isn't my business. Hopefully they will listen to the teacher and the boy will pass on May 19th and will have learned a valuable lesson. Life is hard. No one is going to hand things to you just because you are "different". You have to earn what you get and sometimes you fail. I appreciate that the teacher had the back bone to hold the kid back. He had to know it was going to cause a riff but he stood his ground. He told the kids on Saturday that some would not pass and it was because he loved them enough to not pass them when they weren't ready. He told them he loved them enough to hold them back and not move them on to get rid of them.

I wish our school system worked that way.

MM Idol is down to the last three and voting ends tonight at 4pm. I haven't decided which entry I'm voting for. It appears that they all were sent the same pictures again so you can't get a clue to the maker. The BIG winner is to be announced on Wed.

Speaking of IDOL....AI the COUNTRY version is tonight. We've been trying to figure out who will crash & burn on this type of music. Should be interesting. Then we get to find out tomorrow if Sanjaya is our next CM superstar.

I've added a new link to a blog called "Crops by beryl". She holds crops all over the state. A big group of us went to one she held to benefit "a pregnacy center" in clearwater a few months ago and it was pretty good. I don't think the regular ones will be as elaborate but they will probably be worth looking into. She is a nice lady. If you sign up for her 1st posted crop..tell her Cheryl from the Scrapyard sent ya.

BTW, thanks to everyone that supported Ali Edwards "6 degrees" badge. Check out her blog to read about her phone conversation with Kevin Bacon. Her site was the TOP contribution badge so an additional $10,000 will be added to her amazing total for Autism. WTG. You can still help by checking out the "Stamps for Autism" link on the left. Gina K has created some cool stamps and is donating a portion of the sales. People helping people!!

Meeting at 9am so better run. Hope you all have a great Tuesday. I still have TONS of pictures to share. Maybe one day soon I'll get some time.

You may note that until now I didn't mention the tragedy at V. Tech. I am beyond saddened for the families and friends of the people killed. No matter what his reason turns out to be, NOTHING will make it make sense. Go hug your friends and families. Life is fragile. Unfortunately there are people that make it even more fragile for the rest of us. I suggest you also pray for the gunmans family. I can't imagine the guilt and grief they will be going through.

Til later..................