Oregon Trail--A Blast from the Past!

When I was a kid in school, I loooooved to play Oregon Trail. Does anyone remember it? The roleplay game where you are the leader of your pioneer family trying to travel from Independence, Missouri, west to Oregon. You have to make decisions along the way, like the pace of travel, ration sizes for the family, stopping to rest, when to hunt for food, trading, floating or fording across rivers, etc. It's fun AND clean. There is NOTHING in this game I'd have qualms about letting any child play it.

Anyway, I was wanting to play it and I figured out how to download it FOR FREE. It's now on my computer and I can play anytime I want. :D Thought I'd share how to do it in case anybody else wanted to play.First, go to http://classicgaming.gamespy.com/View.php?view=GameMuseum.Detail&id=266and follow these instructions to a tee. Careful. Don't read all the "comments" on this page. There are some wordy dirds in there. I stopped reading once I got to the instructions on how to do it. I've pasted them below. Let me know if you need help.

First download the file otrail.zip by clicking on [Download the: Oregon Trail Apple II Disk Image] and save it somewhere on your computer. Next, extract the contents of the zip folder. In XP you can do this by right-clicking on the zip folder icon and selecting "extract all". Note the location to which you extract the files, you will need to know later on!Next download the program AppleWin, the Apple //e Emulator for Windows from Link This file also arrives as a zip, extract the zip contents as before, then open the folder you've just extracted. Double-click on the Apple icon named "Applewin" (note there is also a help file named "APPLEWIN" which is not the same thing), the program should start up.On the right side of the Applewin window there is a column of icons. Click on the disk drive icon labelled "1-Master". At this point you should get another window titled "Select Disk Image for Drive 1". Using the "Look in" drop down menu navigate to the folder where you extracted the contents of the otrail.zip file. There should be two files in the folder, Otrail1 and Otrail2. Select Otrail1 and click the "open" button. Repeat this procedure for the disk drive icon numbered "2" and select the file Otrail2 for this drive.At this point you are ready to play! Just click on the Apple icon, the one near the top right under the help icon, and the game should load.Tip: during game play, when you are prompted to switch disks, if you have followed all the above instructions all you have to do is click on the disk drive icon labelled "12"; this will move the disk image not being used to the master drive, then you can hit the space bar to continue playing.Tip:The Applewin window is not scalable, so it may appear very small on your screen depending on your screen resolution. If this is the case, prior to starting the Applewin program, right click on the program icon then select "Properties". Navigate to the "Compatibility" tab, select the box next to "Run in 640 x 480 screen resolution", then hit "apply", then hit "ok". Now when you start Applewin it should appear much larger. Your screen resolution will be returned to normal when you close Applewin.

It's easier than it sounds, really. HAVE FUN! :D

AK Governor Sarah Palin!!! I'm so excited!!!

What a shocker, but I think it's a good one! She's socially conservative, which, contrary to some people's beliefs, I am STAUNCHLY socially conservative. But I'm also an advocate for women's rights to lead as it is appropriate. Sometimes there needs to be a little leaven thrown into the mix, and the right woman can give different viewpoints and see situations with a different slant that could be helpful to men when ascertaining the necessary solution. I think it's absolutely the right pick. A woman who's been married to the same man for 20 years; has five children, one of whom serves our nation in the military and the youngest of whom is a 4-month old little boy with Down's Syndrome; is pro-life and committed to overthrowing Roe vs. Wade; and has a backbone. I mean, this woman began as a member of the local PTO and rose quickly to City Council, City Mayor, and then Governor of Alaska. Once there, she sought out ways to truly "serve" the people who elected her. She scoped out political corruption in the oil industry in AK and had the perpetrators jailed, she stood against government overspending and shut down unnecessary and failing programs. She even sold the state's private jetliner and flies commercial or drives herself, saving the state TONS of money. And she put much of that money back in the pockets of Alaskan citizens where it belongs. She also works "across the aisle" to get things done. She even appoints Democrats to her Cabinet when she feels they have the "right idea" of working with a "servant's heart." She has an approval rating in the high 80% range, which is almost unheard of. I think it's GREAT!!!! Wooo hooooo!!!!! Hats off to John McCain and to Sarah Palin.

Welcome to Blogsville, Annette Deitz!!

That's right. She's got her own little mouseketeer land over there at deitzdomain.blogspot.com. Go check it out.

BUT NOT BEFORE YOU TAKE A LOOK AND COMMENT ON MY RECENT POSTS. HA!!!

Sister Smith has Done it Again

Ever notice how when Sister Smith chides someone for not blogging or posting enough pictures, she gets a post or pictures from the person she's childed? Well, I got the hint. ha!!!

Alright, here are a few more Jackson pictures. I've got a bunch from when I wasn't blogging due to a computer that had blown up. I guess it's alright to post outdated pictures under those circumstances. ;-)

Here's Jackson having fun in our February snow earlier this year:

Christmas morning. Jackson's Christmas present this year was a train table. He loooooves it ...

The Deitzes came out to see Jackson and me in March when Anthony was here in Indiana before we could move up here with him. That was SUCH a blessing to me. Annette and Megan came first and watched Jackson while I was at work and then Phillip came for a few days later. We had lots of fun. One day we went to a Japanese garden in Springfield.

Here's Jackson and John Devon, Terry and Shaye Ammons's little boy. Aren't they cute? These were taken Easter at Zion Hill. The one shot is Jackson with Sister Janet Talley. And the other is Shaye with Jon Devon and her mom, Sister Wanda Arrington. I think that's Terry in the background leaning against the SUV:

And here are some pictures of when we were visiting Anthony's parents this Easter. Anthony's little sister Charity and nephew Skyler had fun playing with Jackson.

Wow, that takes forever to post so many pictures, but I'm glad I did it. Enjoy, all.

By the Way....

Does anybody know when GH is going to put the new appointments on the church website? Just wondering.

AND THERE'S A NEW POST WITH PICTURES!!!! LOOK BELOW!!!!

Two More!!!! Wa-hoo!!!

I got two calls today. Thank you for all those who are praying for us. I know God is working it all out and I'm soooo very thankful to Him.

One class I'm being offered is a Monday night Academic Skills Advancement Writing Class at Ivy Tech Comm. Coll. where I'm teaching my freshman English Comp class. I'm definitely taking that one. The other is a Tues/Thurs ESL class (English as a Second Language) that meets from 12-2. It's in Dowagiac, MI, pretty close to our pastor's house. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to take that one because I don't know who'd watch Jackson. I'm going to check with Sister Bentley to see if she or someone she knows might be able to watch him for a few hours. It'd probably only end up being a little over three hours each of those days that I'd need someone to watch him. We'll see. I'm praying about it. The cool thing about this class is that the students are from Korea and Japan. Japan!!!! I could very possibly get to practice my Japanese skills. I've been wanting to brush up for so long now, but I don't have anyone to practice with. It'd be so very cool if one of the students would be willing to drill me or practice with me. English lessons for Japanese? Sounds good to me. ;-)

In other news, my youngest brother got to come see us for a few days last weekend. We had fun one night but then he woke up the next morning with what I think was a sinus infection, so he slept most of the rest of the time he was here. Poor kid. Anyway, on Friday night we got to play miniature golf. We had a coupon so we only paid $9 for all four of us!!! It cost that much for one person in a lot of places. But we had fun. Thought I'd post a couple of pics.

Here's Jackson trying his best to look sweet ;-)

A victory stance ...

Here he's attempting to block his Uncle Christopher's shot. Little twerpie.

Well, I'm trying to finish my syllabus for my class tomorrow night. I'm having a hard time deciding which of these readings I want to assign. There's one I KNOW I'm going to require. It's called "Becoming Literate: A Lesson from the Amish". It's neat. The author lived with an Amish family for some time as part of her research and analyzed how the Amish introduce reading and writing to their children and how it's followed up in the Amish school. I find it really fascinating. Even small children are encouraged to "read" along with the family. If they play Scrabble or Boggle, 3, 4, and 5 year olds are included and are helped by the older children and the parents with no one hollering about cheating. They don't go past the eighth grade generally, but they still encourage and practice literacy in the home starting at younger ages than some "Englischers" start their children. It was a neat journal article.

Anyway, I need to get going. Thanks again for the prayers and keep 'em coming. We're still looking for some answers about some things. G'night, all.

Anthony Made the Cut!!!!!

Because we're so close to Chicago, the local NBC-affiliate news station did a story on the candidacy of Chicago for the 2016 Olympics and asked Anthony for an interview on the impact it will have for the local hotels. :D Here he is, my star, who now has a bigger head than he had when he left for work this morning! ha!

We do feel the Lord allowed this to happen. It kind of looks good for him at corporate office.

Please keep praying. I still need a job and we're still trusting God for it. A weird thing happened today. Terry Ammons (Brother Ammons's son) met with a guy who owns a Fairfield Inn in Cleveland. The guy was practically begging Terry to manage this hotel for him but Terry's pretty happy with what he's doing, so he threw Anthony's name out for the guy to consider. Well, apparently the guy wants to see Anthony's resume. We just really need to know God's will and we really need you guys to help us pray so we can find exactly what we're supposed to do.

PS ... I FIGURED OUT HOW TO TURN OFF MY MUSIC FINALLY SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE NEWSCAST.

Pleeeease pray for us

Anthony and I have a very serious need and we reaaaaaallllly need to see God's hand move in this. Please pray for us. We need God to move, like, today. There's no doubt Satan's attacking Anthony on his job to the point where we feel it may even be in jeopardy, and I still haven't found one. We cannot be o.k. financially without me having some type of job and we'd be dead in the water if Anthony lost his. We've felt for some time that the answer's on the way, but we really are running out of time. Please pray for us. Please.

And thank you.

Ecstaticism

I've been really trying to work with Jackson this summer for him to learn his letters and the sounds they make. We've been playing games (let's go on a letter hunt) and singing a cute little song from the Leap Frog DVD ("The A says ah ... ) and I've even tried to show him simple words and tell him how the letters sound to form the word, etc. I really didn't think it was taking. But last night Anthony and I were playing Scrabble and Jackson had to get his own rack and letters. And much to Anthony's surprise and to my sheer ecstaticism (my made up word for the day, I guess ... tee hee), he began pointing to some of his letters AND MAKE THEIR SOUNDS!!!!!

"Mommy, this is an R. rrrrr rrrrr. This is an S. ssssss. This is a U. Like uh, up." (A word, too!! HA!!!)

After some drilling from both parents, from what we can tell, Jackson knows more than half of his letters and the sounds that most of those make AND a word that begins with a few of those letters as well. Yayyyyy!!!!!! I'm so happy.

But why did he have to make me go through the agony of thinking I was doing a pitiful job teaching or that he was having difficulties learning. Little twerpie.

Anyway, we'll be continuing our lessons ... with renewed enthusiasm. So happy. :D

I Just Won a Prize!!!!

Just walked into my son's bedroom. He points at some crumbs in the floor from his "stolen" chips I didn't give him permission to get.

Here's the conversation:

Me: Mess?
Jackson: Yes.
Me: Why?
Jackson: Because it's a prize for you.

I couldn't stop laughing long enough for him to get in trouble.

Good thing for him I'm in a good mood.

I guess I win.

(That's four posts in two days. Three just today. I'm on a roll. )

The Professor

I don't believe it!!!!!!!

I'll start at the beginning.

Applied for a job in April at Ivy Tech Community College to teach freshman College Comp. Never heard from them but knew the position hadn't been filled.

Preached at church the other night about trusting God to be our provider. "Consider the lilies ..."

Incorporated the idea of not worrying about this and that because Jesus said, "Consider the lilies", right?

God spoke to me during that sermon because I've been looking for a job and simply said something to the effect of "Ivy Tech will be part of the answer".

Got a call today with an offer from Ivy Tech.

I am now an adjunct professor teaching one freshman comp class. It's only one night a week and pays VERY little. But it's my foot in the door. And it'll look good on a resume. The guy who hired me said there'd be other class offerings to come later.

I am a professor.

Wow.

Who would've ever thunk? tee hee.

Applied for a high school teaching position Wednesday. If this is the job God has for me (with the college job on the side), it's really neat because they have a full-fledged Japanese program at the high school. Have been wanting to brush up on my Japanese. If I get that job, I can probably do that with some sort of arrangement with the Japanese teacher. Then I can get my certification in Japanese by passing an exam.

Teaching college Japanese could become a possibility for me. :D It's really what I would LOVE to do.

Ahhhhh..... God is sooooo very good to me.

"Consider the lilies ... and how much more precious YOU are in His sight." :D

Certified ... or certifiable????

So yesterday, in a frenzied attempt to fulfill all requirements to obtain an Indiana teaching license, and the requirements are many (some being ridiculous), I had to take a CPR class. I am now certified to help any victim who is choking, experiencing a heart attack, fainted, etc. That kind of frightens me. It's overwhelming, anyway. I mean, if I come upon an emergency situation like that, I am obligated to offer my services. Can I go back to my hole now? *shivers* I don't think I want to know how to do this. What if I mess up? Does it create a certain degree of liability? I'm sure it probably does. People sue over anything these days.

I am also supposed to ask for a letter of employment verification from each school where I've taught. Do you know how many that is? 4! I'm supposed to get four letters like that. It's ridiculous. GA and MO just accepted your word for it. No proof needed. Arrrrggghh!!!

Then, because I didn't go to college in IN, I may have to take additional testing to prove that I'm worthy of teaching in this state. WHAT????!!!!! So they're saying that GA and MO, who gave me professional-level teaching certificates without a glitch, don't know what they're doing? That IN is a more prestigious state in which to teach????!!!! Come on, their nickname is Hoosiers! Give me a break.

And get this ... Anthony and I have to retake the written part of our driving tests in order to get Indiana driving licenses. Does any other state do this? I think it's absurd. Like, we're studying the stupid driving manual now because I don't remember how many feet you have to signal before making a turn. And a lot of good it does anyway for me to know this trivial info because I can't judge the difference between 15 feet or 50 feet in distance ... I just know when is a good time to put my blinker on. My theory is that I've had a driver's license in TN, GA, and MO, and I have a good driving record. Why does IN question my ability?????

So my question is this ... and forgive me if anyone out there likes IN, but ... WHO DO THESE PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE making newcomers to their state feel beneath them with all these ridiculous requirements!!!!!!

So, yes, I'm certified to administer CPR, but with all this junk we're dealing with, I also think I may become certifiable ... certifiably insane, that is. *rolling eyes* Grrrrr.....

Good ole' Indiana. *smirk*